Daniel Arroyo has a quick mind. The CEO of San Diego based AstroPrint answered my questions quickly, concisely and without hesitation when we met at the World Maker Faire (WMF) in NYC last weekend. Having a tiger by the tail is no easy experience. He definitely understands the nature of the recent trajectory of his fledgling company. The friendly AstroPrint team showcased the company’s products in action using a Printrbot and a borrowed Delta printer from SeeMeCNC at the WMF this past Saturday and Sunday at the NYC Hall of Science in Verona, Queens.
Funded fourfold by the end of the Kickstarter campaign, AstroPrint really seems to have found what people are looking for in a universal 3D printing operating system or host software: a completely wireless experience that’s simple, beautiful and intuitive. According to Daniel, they’ve come along way since tallying 482 enthusiastic backers when their campaign ended on June 19th of this year.
There are two components to the AstroPrint experience: the Astrobox, a unique piece of hardware with some phenomenal features, and the cloud-based software platform at Astroprint.com, which allows you to connect to and control your 3D printer over Wi-Fi from phones, computers and tablets.
Let’s start with the hardware. The AstroBox can be used as a standalone to control your printer, or in conjunction with the company’s free online cloud slicing and file storage services at AstroPrint.com. If your Internet connection goes down while using the AstroBox, it creates it’s own Wi-Fi, providing a viable connection so you can still control your print. AstroBox also automatically stores your g-code. This means that once you start printing, you no longer need to have an Internet connection, which is similar to the way the Form1 SLA printers operate. Unlike Formlabs however, the open-source ethos is deeply embedded in AstroPrint’s services. Which brings up the visually stunning, superbly designed software platform:
AstroPrint software is great for beginners. It automatically optimizes user settings for each print, reducing the probability of failed prints. This is a relief for unschooled users looking for easy 1-click prints. In the cloud, the user can slice, organize, and store their designs. If you are on the move, don’t worry. You can video monitor your prints live via the web, and choose whether or not to receive automatic updates via email or text.
Further enabling those who are away from home, AstroPrint software neatly organizes your g-codes by the STL files they were sliced from, so users can print from any location, at any time. For more experienced 3D printing enthusiasts used to tweaking every setting on slic3r software, don’t let AstroPrint’s simple interface fool you. You can still change every advanced setting imaginable.
Forking and “heavily modifying” the open source Octoprint software, the team at AstroPrint passes the favor along to users. Anyone, if they are so inclined, can install the AstroPrint software on their own Linux based board, such as a Raspberry Pi, Beagle Bone Black, or pcDuino. That’s right, AstroBox software is open source and available for free.
Having completed and shipped the first 100 orders from Kickstarter, the team at AstroPrint is busy working on fulfilling the next 100 and continuing to make good on their Kickstarter promises, which most recently include executing the planned addition of remote access capabilities.
Minimizing hassle and providing support seems to be the order of the day at AstroPrint. Integrating Slic3r 11 into the cloud, the experienced software team (collectively having worked on the Symbian OS, 3dagogo.com and FindYogaNow.com) took great care to ensure that updates are automatic and optimized. The service at Astroprint.com also allows you to control your printer, as well as print straight from Sketchup or Blender.
AstroPrint is compatible with any 3D printer that uses open-source firmware, which brings us to the main challenge that many universal 3D printer operating system services providers are facing. How do you get permission to create plugins for many popular proprietary 3D printers? It’s proving to be an obstacle for every company that occupies this particular niche market, including PrintToPeer, Octoprint and 3D Control Systems. Though BetaSpring provides a layer of support, this will be a difficult hurdle to jump because of the vast multitude of printers on the market today, and those yet to be released. In the near future, AstroPrint plans to add Makerbot to their list of compatible printers.
When I asked Daniel what his favorite exhibit was at the Maker Faire, he paused for a microsecond to consider the question, he said, “My favorite part of the Maker Faire was being able to go up to all of the people I admire to meet and speak with them.”
Great response.
“Funded fourfold in one day on Kickstarter”
That is not correct. Funded in one day but fourfold by the end of the campaign.
Thanks! A correction has been made.