Printing directly from a smartphone has become an everyday reality. Now, you can also use your smartphone to control your 3D printers !
The revolution has begun…
Available for iOS since last summer, the MakerBot app for controlling and managing a 3D printer from your smartphone was sorely missed by the (many) users of the Android system. This is now a thing of the past as MakerBot released the app this week, to the delight of 3D printing enthusiasts who’ve been eagerly awaiting such a moment! Those working frequently in fab labs will be particularly ha ppy!
3D printed robotics platforms, such as the R0 robot arm , are becoming increasingly common and some can even be controlled using a smartphone, like the DARwin-Mini Programmable Humanoid Robot , the latest addition to the Robotis family.
Features and design
The MakerBot app for Android will certainly live up to your expectations. Below we have listed its most important features:
- A simple and intuitive interface for getting started ultra-rapidly
- Ability to select and resize a 3D model from within Thingiverse, the MakerBot community library , where you’ll find just about everything you can imagine (application also available on Android since 20 January)
- Ability to import your own models
- Not only can you launch 3D printing from your smartphone, but you can also pause it and resume it later
- Ability to monitor printing progress in real time (via the webcam integrated into the 3D printer)
- WiFi communication between the smartphone and printer
Compatible printers
The MakerBot application is compatible with the following 3D printers:
- Replicator
- Replicator Mini
- Replicator Z18
The manufacturer plans to gradually expand its list of app-compatible devices to allow more people to use it. The MakerBot Replicator and Replicator Mini printers are available from our website.
For the record, our HumaRobotics R&D engineers use our 3D Replicator printer regularly to make the custom parts they need for their electronic and robotics projects.
We’ve even published one of their latest designs online: a motorised helmet designed for fixing a Kinect camera to the head of the Baxter collaborative robot , to take its interaction with humans a step further!