What Is OctoPrint​

OctoPrint, created and launched in 2012 by German software engineer Gina Häußge, has grown to become one of the top remote monitoring, management, and control software applications for your 3D printer. The ease of use and simplicity of the software are the primary reasons for many adopters, and the features and functionality have converted adopters into lifelong loyal users.

While the community is growing, many beginners are still unaware of the benefits OctoPrint provides. So, we've compiled a list of genuine reasons why you should be using OctoPrint and why you need it.

If you are a newcomer who has not yet installed OctoPrint, you can take a brief detour and look at our guide on how to set up OctoPrint to get it up and running.

The Mantis 3D Printer​

All of us at The Spaghetti Detective love 3D printing, OctoPrint, and Raspberry Pi’s, so when we heard about a new 3D printer manufacturer offering a 3D printer with OctoPrint, and a Raspberry Pi pre-installed, we were interested! Mantis 3D Printer is using OctoPrint, a Raspberry Pi, and their own custom software with a goal of offering “the world’s easiest to use 3D printer.”

We connected with Joe a few months back and were intrigued because Mantis is one of the first 3D printers to come with OctoPrint pre-installed and a Raspberry Pi on board right out of the box. According to Mantis, their 3D printer fully automates the repair, slicing, orientation, temperature control, printer settings, and bed leveling process to make 3D printing easier than ever. Subsequently, they give users complete access to dive ‘under the hood’ through OctoPrint to control the Mantis like any other open source 3D printer.

While we haven’t tried the Mantis 3D printers ourselves, we think it’s a cool project, so when Joe offered to provide a special discount for The Spaghetti Detective users, we thought it would be a great deal for any users who might be interested in this printer, and for Mantis to get some feedback from our awesome community who also loves 3D printing, OctoPrint and Raspberry Pi’s!

Mantis 3D Printer Special Offer​

The Mantis 3D printer sells for $999, but Mantis is offering a $250 discount for users of The Spaghetti Detective! In addition, Mantis will pay for a 1-year Pro Plan subscription upfront to be used with the new printer. If this sounds like something you are interested in, learn more about the Mantis 3D printer here. When checking out, enter code TSD25 to receive 25% off The Mantis 3D Printer.

The deal is currently limited to the first five purchases, so if this is something you are interested in, definitely check it out soon! If you like these kinds of discounts in general, please let us know so we can find additional ways to offer you deals and discounts on interesting products. If you don’t like them, please let us know that too. You can leave a comment below or drop us an email at support@thespaghettidetective.com.

In this article, we will discuss the benefits of using a camera with OctoPrint and some of the options you can choose from.

OctoPrint is one of the best free and open-source software options for remotely monitoring and controlling a 3D printer. Thousands of users use OctoPrint daily to take advantage of its features and create higher-quality products on their 3D printers. The software is easy to learn and simple to use, so beginners using the most basic 3D printers can also benefit from using OctoPrint.

It will not be an overstatement to say that users, both new and old, recommend using the software because of the numerous benefits it provides to the overall printing experience.

More About OctoPrint​

OctoPrint, despite being marketed as remote monitoring software, does much more than that. It can simultaneously monitor and control multiple printers or print farms, capture pictures and videos, create viral OctoLapse videos, schedule jobs, set print parameters, control bed, and extruder movement; adjust temperatures; control extrusion, edit G-codes, update firmware, and even change display themes to create a personalized environment.

OctoPrint is relatively simple to set up. If you haven’t already set up OctoPrint you can check out our OctoPrint setup guide.

Why Use A Camera With OctoPrint?​

Remote Monitoring​

OctoPrint can effectively monitor 3D printers using its wide range of impressive plugins. However, having a camera adds a whole new dimension to the printing experience. The camera is mounted in and around the printer enclosure such that the printhead and print bed is sufficiently captured. The camera is connected to the OctoPrint software and so the feed from the camera is visible to the user who can then operate the printer as he wants. Adding a camera makes it much easier to monitor and control the printer altogether.

What is OctoPrint and why do I need it?​

OctoPrint is the most popular 3D printing software for wirelessly monitoring and controlling your 3D printer.

Hundreds of thousands of printers rely on OctoPrint's awesome snappy web interface daily to manage their workflows. In addition there are a ton of awesome plugins that take the power of remote 3D printer monitor and control to a whole new level. In this guide, we will tell you what you need to get OctoPrint set up with your 3D printer and how install it.

Prefer to watch a video to guide you through the process? Check out our video on setting up OctoPrint and getting started with OctoPrint plugins!

OctoPrint is one of the best tools you can get for your 3D printer. It provides you with a convenient way to send G-Code to the printer, kick off the print, monitor the print via webcam, and pause/cancel the print all in a beautifully structured user interface. There is a downside though - OctoPrint can only be accessed on your home network, not anywhere else.

Imagine: you just set up a print, turned the printer on, and see everything is perfect. You have some spare time so you leave the house, but one thought lingers – what’s going on with my print? Did it fail, how much time there is left for it to end?

No need to panic. Although you can't directly use OctoPrint outside your home network, there are plenty of ways to let you do that indirectly from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. It may be hard to choose which option is the best for you. In this article we try to help you with that, presenting the pros and cons of all possible ways to access your printer remotely.

3D Models to Print: Fidget Star Edition​

3D printing enables makers to create some absolutely amazing things. Whether for practical use or just for fun, it's always amazing to see what you can make with a 3D printer.

If you have a 3D printer yourself, it can be exhausting trying to find models on some of the popular sites like thingiverse so I am highlighting a couple of fun 3D models that I have really enjoyed printing recently.

Check out the timelapse video created using Octolapse and watch The Spaghetti Detective's viral tik tok video that got over 50 million views on its Tik Tok account to get a sense of what these fidgets are all about. Want to print these fidgets yourself? We'll show you where to get the files below so you can do just that.

The Fractal Fidget Star and its attachments​

Our absolute favorite fidget is by far the 8-pointed fractal fidget star and the attachments that go with it designed by Chuck Hilliard (known as chuuckaduuck on Thingiverse and social media). This is by far the most popular of all the fractal fidgets (maybe because it has a cool 3D printable attachment to go with it).

The fractal fidget stars look awesome in this timelapse video:

I made a giant fidget star for my grandma and posted it on our Tik Tok account a few months ago and it just hit 50 million views. Check it out:

@thespaghettidetective

Can’t wait for Grandma to see this tomorrow! #fypシ #foryou #grandma #3dprinting #granny #fidgettoys #3dnerds #3dprinter #spaghettidetective #diy

♬ original sound - The Spaghetti Detective 🍝

Where do I get the STL files?​

You can get the STL file for the 8-Pointed Fractal Fidget Star on thingiverse here or on My Mini Factory here.

Tips for printing the fidget star

• Take it slow especially on the first layer to ensure proper adhesion. We have printed these from 5-25% infill with success at all levels.

The fractal fidget attachments can also be found on Thingiverse here.

Tips for printing the attachments

• Begin with 'A1A String Attachment' to calibrate the fitting to your print. Adjust the X and Y axis in .1mm increments until satisfied with fit. Sometimes it is easier to release an attachment by pushing it through rather than pulling it out.

I have regained my confidence that The Spaghetti Detective app is on pretty solid ground when it comes to security. I take full responsibility for the blunder I made in the process of developing and deploying the auto-discovery feature. Meanwhile, we don't want to have the auto-discovery function disabled forever. It would be the easiest way moving forward, but also the laziest. We know auto-discovery has made it extremely easy for new users to link their printers to The Spaghetti Detective and everyone loved it! We still want to give them a way to do it, and do it securely.

And we found a way!

The original auto-discovery design and implementation​

The Spaghetti Detective had a serious security incident on August 19th. That incident was caused by a mistake I made in the function called "auto-discovery".

This post is to provide an update on what we have done after the incident.

What we did on the day of the incident:​

• Immediately disabled auto-discovery once we found out the vulnerability, about 4.5 hours after it happened.
• Identified and deactivated the 73 printers that were exposed to this vulnerability during those 4.5 hours.
• Sent an email to all The Spaghetti Detective users to disclose this incident.
• Offered all Pro subscribers the option to cancel the subscription and receive a full refund.

What we have done afterward:​

• Had the code base of The Spaghetti Detective app thoroughly audited by a Security Consultant. No other vulnerability is identified.
• Performed vulnerability deep scans using Detectify, which distributed "exploitation scanning" to 30 whitehat hackers. Again nothing showed up.
• Designed, implemented, audited, and thoroughly tested a new way to do auto-discovery. To "have more eyeballs on the code", we have launched a bug bounty program.

We have regained the confidence that The Spaghetti Detective app remains on a pretty solid ground when it comes to security. Meanwhile, we have learned not to take things for granted. We will keep our antenna up for any signs of vulnerability or abuse.

A personal note from Kenneth:​

I was waiting for a shitstorm after I sent the email about the security incident to all The Spaghetti Detective users. The consequence of the incident was serious. Although only 73 users were impacted, it resulted in unauthorized access for at least one user's printer. I didn't expect this kind of blunder to be easily forgiven.

Instead, I was humbled by the kindness and support in the overwhelming responses you folks sent to me. I only did what I should have done: taking responsibility for my own mistake and cleaning up the mess. But you generously showered me with so much love!

At that moment, I felt lucky. Not because I escaped a shitstorm. I felt lucky because I realized I happened to be serving the most awesome group of people in the world. I started The Spaghetti Detective to give all 3D printing enthusiasts a way to securely and safely monitor your printers. I have disappointed you once. The only thing I can do is to make The Spaghetti Detective better and safer so that I won't disappoint you again!

OctoPrint is the most popular software for monitoring and controlling your 3D printer from another room. It's expansive list of plugins takes it to the next level. In this blog post, I will discuss my two favorite OctoPrint plugins, Octolapse and The Spaghetti Detective. As a content creator myself, I will highlight some of the benefits these plugins provide for creating content.

What is Octolapse?​

For those of you that do not know, Octolapse is a plugin for OctoPrint that was developed by FormerLurker. It is an easy to install plugin that provides seemingly magic time-lapses of your 3D prints. You can configure the time-lapses to work in a bunch of different ways. Some configurations make it look like the 3D print is growing out of the build plate, while others provide a satisfying animation effect. You can fully configure many settings to get the exact result you are going for (depending on your camera setup).

OctoPrint tab (Source: Octolapse page)

This article was updated on August 12, 2022

OctoPrint is a web interface dedicated to making 3D printing easier by allowing you to control and monitor the process. The software allows you to access and control virtually any parameter on your printer.

Moreover, in a heart-warming, traditional internet fashion, it’s open source.

There is a vast database of plugins developed by the 3D printing community that make your experience with OctoPrint even better, and here we list and explain the most popular ones.