Mendel User Manual: Host Software

Introduction

This page describes the host-computer software that allows you to load parts to be printed and that generates files from them to be sent to a RepRap machine.

The host software works in two steps:

1. Load parts to be printed, and generate RepRap G-Code instructions from them, saving those G-Codes in a file.
2. Load up a resulting G-Code file and send it to a RepRap machine to print it.

Both steps are described on this page.

Overview

When you run the RepRap Java software it opens these two windows. The one on the left is a console that allows you to set up objects to be printed, to print them, and also to control the RepRap machine interactively. The one on the right is a plan view of the base of the machine onto which you can load STL files of the parts that you want to make, and then position them where you want the machine to make them.

You will see that there are a number of tabs on the console labelled Extruder_n. The RepRap host software is capable of dealing with multiple physical extruders depositing multiple materials. In addition, one physical material may have several logical extruders associated with it. These logical extruders can have different parameters associated with them, so that, for example, one might be used to extrude material-A finely for the surfaces of a part to be printed, another might be used to extrude material-A coarsely for quick solid infill of the part, and a third might extrude material-A in a deliberately weak pattern to form a support for overhangs that can easily be broken away. Alternatively, you can outline in material-A, infill in material-B and support with material-C.

Alternatives

There are alternative ways to run your RepRap than the one described on this page. Most notably these are the Skeinforge program, which is a tool chain that takes 3D objects and turns them into GCode files for sending to a RepRap, and ReplicatorG, which is a program for taking GCode files and printing the objects they represent on a RepRap machine.

For minimalist transmission of Gcode files to a RepRap using Linux/Unix machines from the command line, there are gcdump, and gcgen to create Gcode commands for simple RepRap control. These are available as C source or pre-compiled binaries and work well on the OLPC.