Interoperability–or more appropriately a lack thereof–is an ongoing and daily headache for engineers and designers in many areas of product development. Despite incompatibility between CAD systems, juggling CAD files in myriad formats has become a reality for most engineers, often resulting in bottlenecks and rework.
With multiple brands and types of 3D printers on the market and 3D printing services popping up regularly, a lack of interoperability is affecting 3D printing as well. Most 3D printers are not interoperable.
A new cloud-based platform might change all of that. 3DPrinterOS, a cloud-based operating system, aims to create a standard for 3D printing that hopes to reduce many of the hassles associated with 3D printing. To overcome the interoperability hurdle, 3DPrinterOS enables software to be embedded so it works with any 3D printer.
3DPrinterOS is a single platform that will allow users to not only 3D print from virtually anywhere but also provides a means by which the maker community can collaborate with each other on multiple 3D designs. Because the platform is cloud-based, anyone with a 3D printer can connect it to the 3DPrinterOS platform so that it can be accessed from any Web-enabled device, anywhere in the world.
The platform has been in beta testing since last year, but will now be officially launched to the public, where anyone–both rookies and professionals–can 3D print directly from the cloud, make changes, slice, and manage prints on multiple 3D printers.
Making 3D printing more accessible
By making 3D printing more accessible, 3DPrinterOS will enable product designers, hobbyists and makers, and educators to tap into an enormous network of 3D manufacturing hubs worldwide. Users can both manage and share 3D printers and upload a variety of 3D designs from CAD or other file types (STL, AMF, PLY, OBJ, STL, or G-code). Customized settings as well as a ‘Magic Fix’ app can be used to analyze, repair, and rotate files for printing exactly on users’ 3D printers.
Advanced statistics enable users to track 3D printers, filament used, hours printed and have access to full print logs, individual job id’s, and error reports from failed prints.
Capabilities of 3DPrinterOS include:
* Slicing capabilities from the cloud
* 3D design and 3D printer sharing
* Live support and management for multiple 3D printers
* Cloud rendering of STL and G-code files
3DPrinterOS will provide a better way engineers and designers to share and collaborate as they can search and upload content and share CAD files with others. The platform also offers an easy way to work on projects, whether simple or complex, without worrying about file types or equipment types.
Sound intriguing? Sign up for a free account to try it yourself here.
