How to set up a remotely controlled 3D printer
Learn how you can integrate Meshnet into your 3D printing setup for remote control.
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Learn how you can integrate Meshnet into your 3D printing setup for remote control.
Last updated
Was this helpful?
With the availability of 3D printers swiftly increasing, more and more people have decided to start learning, experimenting, and working with 3D printers. The printers are often used as cost-efficient prototyping tools and supplement many home and office setups.
Leaving a 3D printer unattended can be considered a hazard. However, with adequate supervision, having remote access to your printer can make printing more time-efficient. By implementing into your network configuration, you can forego and easily access your 3D printer while not being physically present.
This guide showcases how you can turn a Linux device into a remotely accessible 3D printer controller and how to remotely initiate print jobs using slicers over Meshnet.
Make sure you have the following:
A 3D printer
A Linux device running a that will function as the 3D printer controller
Installed 3D printer firmware on the Linux device
An example device and firmware pair you may use could be a running or .
To enable secure remote connections to your device, you need to install NordVPN and enable Meshnet.
Follow these steps to install NordVPN on your controller device:
Download and install the NordVPN Linux client by running the command below.
Log in to your NordVPN account.
You can log in to your NordVPN account without the use of a graphical user interface (GUI) in two ways:
By running the nordvpn login
command with the --token
flag
By running the nordvpn login
command with the --callback
flag
Instructions for both methods are outlined below.
Tip
To preserve your token when logging out of the NordVPN app, use the nordvpn logout --persist-token
command. Otherwise, your token will be revoked.
To check your device’s Nord name and the Meshnet IP address, enter the following command:
Example
You will also see your Meshnet peer devices with their corresponding permissions.
This section covers the process of adding the remote Meshnet 3D printer controller using the following slicers on desktop devices:
With the slicer setup completed, you can securely manage your 3D printer without any network or distance restrictions using Meshnet.
On any device, log in to your dashboard and select the Meshnet (by NordVPN) card.
Upon logging in, you can by typing this command:
A slicer is an intermediary that transforms a 3D design file into — a set of instructions that a 3D printer understands. While many printers come with their own slicers, there are various other options that you may choose to use.
Download and install the latest version of for your OS.
Download and install the latest version of for your OS.
Download and install the latest version of Slic3r for your OS from the .