Polar Cloud (remote 3D printing)
Have you ever wanted to print something to your printer at school while you were at home? How about monitoring a web cam showing how your print is going? Ever wanted to be able to print directly from a Chromebook? How about your smartphone?
Yeah...me too. Enter Polar Cloud 3D printing at https://polar3d.com/ . I was searching for a way to print from my Samsung Chromebook Pro directly to my Flashforge Finder(s). FlashPrint, which is the default printing program for the Finder, is only able to be installed on Mac, Windows, and Linux. This leaves Chromebooks in the dark. Polar Cloud enables Chromebooks and virtually any other devices to setup, configure, and send jobs to a 3D printer.
Polar Cloud works with many different types of printers, however it works especially well with the Flashforge Finder, which is very prevalent in the state of Maine. Configuring the printer is easy. Just click here to go to the page showing you how to do it. If you have a Flashforge Finder you will need the latest version of the firmware. You should upgrade before you begin. Use the update function under "Settings" in the Tools menu on the printer. If you don't see an update function, then you may be way behind in firmware updates and may need to resort to a manual method. If you have a newer Flashforge Finder, meaning one that was purchased within the last year or so, then you should be able to print using Polar Cloud. Older Flashforge Finders (1st gen) are not able to be updated to the later versions of the firmware. Try the manual firmware update method. If you have an older printer, it simply won't work...then you'll know.
Don't fret though. If you really want remote printing, there's another path for getting Polar Cloud working with your printer using the plugin Octoprint. (watch the video)