Figure 10.30: Printer dashboard: job submitted and START button active
By default, the control buttons on the printer dashboard screen are only active for the printer owner and any additional printer managers, while members instead see these control buttons grayed-out. In particular, by default only the printer owner and any additional printer managers can trigger the actual start of a queued print job (or pause or stop a job that is currently printing). However, when a printer is shared with a group, there is a group “Control Printers” setting to allow members of the group to control the printer. When that switch has been set “on”, then all members of the group sharing the printer can also make use of the control buttons.
As of version 17.09.20 (released early October, 2017) or later, the printer dashboard for Polar3D 2.0 or 2.5 printers shows a “CHANGE FILAMENT” button present even when a printer is idle (so even when no print job is running), for the purpose of unloading (or changing) filament. The printer dashboard for other makes of printer (including Polar3D 1.0 printers) will not have this (idle mode) “CHANGE FILAMENT” button (though when a print job is running, the “CHANGE FILAMENT” button will be present).
For OctoPrint controlled printers, after the OctoPrint server happens to have been restarted, the printer “Status” will be “USB DISCONNECTED”, and instead of a “START” button on the printer dashboard, there will be a “CONNECT” button. (For some printers that OctoPrint can control, connecting the USB after an OctoPrint server restart will abort any job that was already printing on the printer; so by default, the OctoPrint server does not automatically reconnect the USB after a restart.) If you don’t need to wait for a currently printing job to finish, then you may click “CONNECT” to connect the USB; after connecting, you should instead see “Status: READY TO PRINT” and the usual “START” button, which you may use to start a new job printing.
When a printer’s “Status” is “READY TO PRINT”, then, to trigger the start of the job at the head of the print queue, click the “START” button on the printer dashboard screen; see Figure 10.30. (Printer managers may opt to first re-order the jobs in the print queue to move a different print job to the head of the queue; see Section 10.5.3.)
Once a job is printing, the control buttons “CHANGE FILAMENT”, “COLD PAUSE”, “PAUSE”, and “STOP” appear, and the slicer’s estimate of the length of filament required for the job will be displayed under FILAMENT USAGE; see Figure 10.31.
The “CHANGE FILAMENT” button pauses the print (performs a “warm” pause), and backs out the current filament.
The “COLD PAUSE” button pauses the print, turning off the heating element in the extruder. A “cold pause” is appropriate when you do not wish to abort a partially printed object, but you need some significant time to check (or fix) something with the printer, or perhaps you need some time to obtain more filament.
The “PAUSE” button performs a “warm” pause: it pauses printing but keeps the heater(s) on and does not back out the filament. As such, a “PAUSE” is appropriate when you want to quickly check (or fix) something. But leaving the printer in a “warm” pause for an extended period is not recommended: since the filament remains in the still hot extruder, during an extended “warm” pause, melted filament may begin leaking onto your build plate.
The “STOP” button stops the print job: printing of the current job stops, and all heaters are turned off. Note that the print job is left in the queue (should you later wish to make a fresh start on the print); if, however, you do not plan to ever re-attempt this print job, you should delete the job from the queue.7
After performing a “CHANGE FILAMENT” while a print job was running, the control button “RESUME” appears (to resume printing); after performing a “COLD PAUSE", or “PAUSE”, the control buttons that become available are “RESUME” (to resume printing) and “STOP” (if you wish to turn your temporary pause into a permanent stop of the print job).
Especially if you share management of a printer with others, note that print job “START” or “STOP” are among the activities for which you may configure IFTTT to notify you; see Chapter 12.
7Stopping the job and removing it from the print queue is referred to as cancelling the print job.
