Installation

Welcome in this very first tutorial! You’ve probably found Printoid on Google Play, Twitter, Facebook… And you want to give it a try!

Printoid is a powerful remote interface for your OctoPrint server(s). Here are the prerequisites. Please read carefully this tutorial before downloading it from Google Play.

THE BASE SYSTEM

Printoid is a remote interface which communicates with your OctoPrint server, itself connected to your 3D printer over USB for example.

The only things you should have at hand are a Raspberry Pi (or another machine, a PC for example can do the work, even if it’s really more convenient to use a Raspberry Pi) and a USB cable to connect your 3D printer to the Raspberry Pi.

Ah… and of course, a 3D printer with at least a USB port.

The Raspberry Pi 3 model B is the best compromise because it has a lot of USB ports (nice to connect the 3D printer, a webcam and eventually the Android device with Printoid on it). It has also an integrated Wi-Fi chip, so it’s very convenient for the network access ; and it’s one of the most powerful micro-computer available for the moment.

Get a Rasbperry Pi 3b →

INSTALL OCTOPRINT

Printoid does not directly control your 3D printer: OctoPrint is doing the magic, by connecting your printer to a Raspberry Pi (or another machine) over USB.

The developer of OctoPrint provides a full system image for your Raspberry Pi, called OctoPi. This is the most simple way to install OctoPrint on your Rasbperry Pi without having to configure a lot of thing: it’s almost out of the box!

Just follow the tutorial provided by Gina.

Download and install OctoPi →

CONFIGURE OCTOPRINT

Alright! Now please ensure that you are able to properly access the OctoPrint web interface.

Once you’ve retrieved the local IP (LAN) of your Raspberry Pi, go to your favorite web browser and type it on the URL bar. If you haven’t changed the default OctoPrint web interface local port (it is not recommended to change it at this time), then let the browser using itself the default port (80).

Configure OctoPrint for the first use, then go to its settings. You will see an “API” menu: please check the “enable” box if it’s not done yet, and note the API key. This value will be used by Printoid to be able to communicate with your server. That’s a token to identify you as a “safe user”.

INSTALL PRINTOID

You can now install Printoid on your smartphone or tablet. You’re almost there! Simply fill the printer profile screen with the previous information you’ve collected.