OctoPrint has proven to be one of the most effective and versatile tools for 3D printing. It’s a mini server that allows you to control and remotely monitor a 3D printer via your computer. This software provides many options that let you do more than just start printing.
One might even call it a 3D printer operating system due to its functionality and compatibility. Advanced users now have the chance to do much more than basic 3D printing, which is why you need one of the best OctoPrint plug-ins to make these various features easily and readily accessible.
So whether you’re working in an office or at home, you’ll need one of these extensions to enhance your 3D printing experience. A wide array of plug-ins work well with OctoPrint to offer more options and allow you to do more with your 3D printer.
So in this article, we will focus on the best and most popular options you should consider for a better 3D printing experience.
OctoPrint is becoming a top-rated open source for 3D printers, and rightly so due to its functionality. It improves when you use advanced plug-ins with the best open-source 3D printers. One thing is sure; the OctoPrint Plug-ins are effective and valuable to any user. The good news is that most of these plug-ins are free and accessible.
Here are some advantages of using OctoPrint Plug-ins.
Using a plug-in with octoPrint provides added functionality that is quite helpful for 3D printing. You can enhance the quality of your prints, add custom features and do much more. Even an average OctoPrint plug-in vastly improves your overall 3D printing experience in various aspects.
3D printers might be great for a lot of users, but these devices pose some threats that could be risky to your files. However, plug-ins provide extra security and protection to OctoPrint, making it more secure from potential risks.
OctoPrint plug-ins allow you to get a visual display containing different information such as your printer’s temperature level, battery life, display theme, the progress of print, and so on. You get access to all this information when you get the relevant plug-ins for your use.
OctoPrint plug-ins are valuable tools that let you access various features you can use for better print management. This way, you’ll not only be able to remote monitor and control your prints but also manage large prints, enhance printed parts, create videos, and much more.
Thanks to the OctoPrint community, you have various plug-in options at your disposal to provide different features and uses.
OctoPrint plug-ins enhance your 3D printing experience by allowing you to access the features and functions built into OctoPrint. You can install these plug-ins on your Raspberry PI through different methods and processes. If you’re unfamiliar with OctoPrint, you can check out the best 3D printers for beginners to give you a solid idea of how this functions with 3D printing.
There are three methods of installing OctoPrint plug-ins. So here is a simple guide to help you add OctoPrint plug-ins in no time.
It’s done manually in OctoPrint using the “plug-in manager.” You’ll find this option in the settings menu of OctoPrint. So select the Plug-in repository in the Plug-in manager’s settings box and choose your preferred OctoPrint plug-in. Once you find the one you’re interested in, click the “install” button close to the option.
Once the installation is complete, you’ll get an alert showing “done!”. After this process, you may see a display asking you to “reboot” to restart your Raspberry Pi. Note that not all plug-ins will need a reboot after installation.
Another method of installing your OctoPrint plug-ins would be copying and pasting the URL into OctoPrint. This option is an excellent alternative for installing plug-ins you cannot find on the Plug-in repository page. Find your preferred plug-in page and copy the URL provided in the small installation box.
Then paste the link into the text box that reads “install from URL” in the Plugin Manager’s settings dialog. Click install, and you’re good to go.
If you’re struggling to find your preferred OctoPrint plug-in on the list, you can manually download the plug-in as a zip file on GitHub.
Once the download process is complete, you can head back to the OctoPrint, select the “browse” button to access your computer files and choose the OctoPrint plug-in file. Once you’ve done this, you should be able to install the plug-in on your OctoPrint. This installation process is perfect for users who cannot find their preferred plug-ins in the Plug-in manager list.
Bed Visualizer Trusted Source Bed Level Visualizer Displays 3D mesh of bed topography report. plugins.octoprint.org is one of the most commonly used OctoPrint plug-ins. This is an excellent tool that helps you produce quality prints by ensuring your printer’s bed is level. Carrying out this process manually can often be tedious and exhausting.
This is what makes Bed Level Visualiser such a great tool as it highlights the topographical map of your bed and displays high areas and parts that are low. With this visual representation, you’ll have a proper view of your bed to see if there is any unevenness.
With PrintTimeGenius Trusted Source OctoPrint-PrintTimeGenius Use a gcode pre-analysis to provide better print time estimation. plugins.octoprint.org , you’ll be able to generate precise and highly accurate gcode printing time estimations using advanced gcode analyzers along with the printing history. This plug-in takes a few minutes to run the necessary algorithm and detect the remaining print time.
This plug-in gives you a precise estimation, especially when you have a number of prints lined up for processing. Not only does this help estimate the print time, but it also calculates the time it takes to heat the nozzle/bed.
The beauty of OctoPrint is the ability to remote control and monitor your 3D printer. But it gets even better with the
OctoEverywhere plug-in
Trusted Source
OctoEverywhere - Free Remote Monitoring, Notifications, And Control!
Free, simple, and secure remote monitoring and control of your OctoPrint printer anywhere in the world! OctoEverywhere gives you unlimited OctoPrint access on any web browser and can empower your favorite OctoPrint Android and iOS apps to work everywhere! With our new instant notification technology, you can stay on top of your prints from any device, anywhere!
plugins.octoprint.org
, which allows you to monitor your print worldwide. This offers unlimited access via your web browser on your PC or mobile devices.
You can also gain OctoPrint access through your phone’s OctoPrint app, which is compatible with various Android and iOS devices. The availability of this application gives you a range of options and functions that you will find very useful.
Octolapse Trusted Source Octolapse Create a stabilized timelapse of your 3D prints. Highly customizable, loads of presets, lots of fun. Requires OctoPrint 1.3.9 or higher. Python 3 users MUST install the Python 3 Development package before installation. plugins.octoprint.org has proven to be a handy tool that every advanced user should have due to its time-lapse attributes. This plugin allows you to create impressive time-lapse videos of your prints without hassle. Once you configure this plug-in for your printer, your webcam will take snapshots of each layer and compile it into one excellent time-lapse video after the entire process.
It adjusts the extruder and print bed to ensure they are within the frame and in a good position before capturing every image.
Octolapse takes these snapshots at layer changes, so you don’t need GCode customizations or external camera mounts to get coverage of your prints.
You’ll be able to generate a smooth and impressive time-lapse. If you’ve ever seen a nice 3D printing time-lapse video, there’s a good chance it was created using Octolapse.
The plug-in name already gives an idea of its functionality.
Firmware Updater
Trusted Source
Firmware Updater
Update your printer’s firmware from OctoPrint.
plugins.octoprint.org
ensures your 3D printer’s firmware is up to date with the latest from OctoPrint. It also gives you access to perform functions before and after firmware updates, such as configuring and setting flashing methods.
This saves you the hassle of looking for a software program or a flashing program for your printer. Firmware Updater effectively takes care of this task for various 3D printers. If you have a 3D printer like Ender, you might want to look at the best Ender 3 upgrades.
DisplayLayerProgress Trusted Source DisplayLayerProgress Displays the Layer, Progress and other data on “Printer-Display”, “NavBar”, “BrowserTab-Title” and in the Browser as a simulated “Printer-Display”. plugins.octoprint.org shows reports on the print time needed to complete a particular task. The plug-in gives you a visual representation that includes information regarding the layer, progress, and other data on your printer.
You also get a pop-up feature containing all M117 messages.
This plug-in Trusted Source OctoPrint-Dashboard A dashboard tab for Octoprint. plugins.octoprint.org creates a separate dashboard tab in OctoPrint that shows all the necessary data of the printer. This means you’ll get an extra tab which will automatically become the default tab and appear first on the list whenever you open OctoPrint. You’ll find information about any current print, printer state, status, and other data.
Its nice-looking layout and interface feature several other information which includes the following:
While Dashboard displays a lot of relevant information, you have the option to choose the data and widgets that appear in this tab. Also, if you have installed other plug-ins like PrintTimeGenius, you’ll get data regarding the estimated print time.
This tool Trusted Source Navbar Temp Display temperatures on navbar. plugins.octoprint.org shows the Navbar’s temperature of the SoC, bed, and nozzle. Luckily, you can install this plug-in via Plugin Manager from Settings.
While Navbar Temp isn’t a perfect tool yet and still undergoing some testing, it is still quite effective and allows you to have an idea of the Raspberry Pi’s chip’s temperature.
The Simple Emergency Stop Trusted Source Simple Emergency Stop Add an emergency stop buton on NavBar! plugins.octoprint.org appears on Navbar after the installation as a go-to option to stop your 3D printing immediately. It’s possible to encounter issues during printing that require a quick stop. However, the stop button may not feel easily accessible when you’re keen to cancel a printing job promptly.
The Simple Emergency Stop tool can quickly end the printing process. You must navigate OctoPrint Navbar and select the “EMERGENCY STOP” button. Depending on your preference, you can choose between two button sizes, big or small.
3D printers are susceptible to overheating, which can lead to possible fire hazards. This plug-in Trusted Source HeaterTimeout Automatically shut off heaters if no print has been started. plugins.octoprint.org is a necessary safety feature whenever you experience thermal failures or printing issues. It sends a signal to OctoPrint off the heat to your printer after a specific time.
3D printing requires applying preventive measures to avoid any fire accidents. You can also adjust the settings to control the frequency of inspections.
If you would prefer the NavBar to float on your screen or simply stick to a preferred position then you should consider installing this plug-in Trusted Source OctoPrint-FloatingNavbar Make the navbar float/stick to the top of the page. plugins.octoprint.org . This basically keeps the Navbar in a particular position on your screen while you scroll, making it readily accessible.
OctoPrint generally comes with a simple light theme and layout. However,
Themeify
Trusted Source
Themeify
Beautiful themes for octoprint.
plugins.octoprint.org
allows you to make changes and customize the OctoPrint theme to your desired taste. There are some options you can try out and select to a personalized taste.
Adding this plug-in gives you a chance to switch to a nice Dark Theme. You can also tweak other features related to the appearance and display via the advanced-customization scheme. These adjustments are available in the settings box after the installation of Themeify.
PrettyGCode Trusted Source OctoPrint-PrettyGCode A pretty GCode visualizer for Octoprint. plugins.octoprint.org is a tool that displays lines with color to give a good view of the printing process. This plug-in creates an extra 3D GCode visualizer tab in OctoPrint, where you can choose options to add this effect.
You’ll get access to more features when you install other plug-ins, like Dashboard and animation, to reflect your progress.
3D printers typically use gcodes to carry out certain actions and print a specific part. The gcodes G2 and G3 are usually utilized for arc movements which are perfect for prints with circular moves, while the G01 and G02 are used to perform linear movements.
Arc Welder Trusted Source Arc Welder Anti-Stutter and GCode Compression. Replaces G0/G1 with G2/G3 where possible. plugins.octoprint.org tries to replace G0 and G1 with G2 and G3 where and when necessary. This substitution will help to reduce the number of linear movements in print which will significantly compress the GCode files and minimize stuttering caused by sending many small movements in quick succession over a slower serial connection.
So, this plug-in acts as a GCode compressor and anti-stutter by replacing different points that have straight or linear movements (G0 and G1) in your 3D print with arc movements (G2 and G3 GCodes). With Arc Welder, you’ll get rapid print time, smoother prints, and better quality for circular objects.
No one likes the look of a failed print, especially when it has to do with an issue on the printer’s part. The outcome of a failed print can often look like a plate of spaghetti. While these problems can sometimes be inevitable, you can still effectively manage them to avoid creating a further mess.
The Spaghetti Detective Trusted Source Access Anywhere - The Spaghetti Detective The Spaghetti Detective is now Obico! Please install “Obico for OctoPrint” instead. plugins.octoprint.org scans for any possible indication of a failing print and notifies you if any. Once it can spot a failed print, you’ll get a notification that immediately alerts you of the situation.
The Touch UI Trusted Source TouchUI A touch friendly interface for Mobile and TFT touch module. plugins.octoprint.org tool for OctoPrint allows you to create a solid touch-enabled environment or layout for better and easy functionality. This means you can generate a small touchscreen workspace that works with your 3D printer using touch-enabled devices like smartphones, iPads, or tablets.
So Touch UI comes in handy, especially if you fancy a more responsive layout that offers connection to bigger buttons and visuals. It allows you to seamlessly control your 3D printer using a custom Graphic User Interface (GUI). This plug-in will enable you to perform various functions, such as adjusting the fan speed and temperatures.
All these features will be available at just the tap of a screen. You can also connect a virtual keyboard to OctoPrint.
These settings are personalized, which means you can modify the touch interface to your taste and save them to your local storage as a cookie. So you can easily access this file whenever you wish to use the Touch UI settings,
You must note that the local storage matters as you’ll only be able to access your Touch interface via the same device.
With this plug-in Trusted Source SpoolManager The OctoPrint-Plugin manages all spool informations and stores it in a database. plugins.octoprint.org , you’ll be able to manage all spool data and save it in a specific database. This includes color, material length, usage period, weight, etc.
3D printing can sometimes get messy when running multiple prints due to a number of unprecedented factors. For instance, if you encounter a situation where one part of your printer fails, this can affect your current print, and the rest queued up.
Luckily, Exclude Region Trusted Source Exclude Region Adds the ability to prevent printing within rectangular or circular regions of the currently active gcode file. plugins.octoprint.org allows you to give instructions to OctoPrint on what to do when a part fails. This will prevent a mess where your current prints run into other ones and form extrusions or extra failures. You can think of this as a “Force Stop” option to end a print when, let’s say, one of the parts comes off the bed.
It’s also great to save filament and avoid wasting spaghetti from messing up other parts. Once you’ve installed this plug-in, all you need to do is drag the current print out of the box, and OctoPrint will ignore it and promptly end the printing process.
Telegram Trusted Source OctoPrint-Telegram A plugin to send and react on messages before, during and after a print via Telegram Messenger. plugins.octoprint.org is perhaps one of the most essential OctoPrint plug-ins you should have. It is an excellent way of remote monitoring your prints with OctoPrint, but this time you get the option to chat with your printer using some commands.
You can demand information regarding the printer’s state or the print’s current status and drop an alert when the print is ready. You could also receive prompt notifications with images from the webcam before, during, and after print. This gives you a solid reading and progress report of the current print.
So if you’re interested in enjoying a premium remote-controlling experience with OctoPrint, you should waste no time installing this tool.
The plug-in is safe and doesn’t require opening any ports in your firewall.
OctoPrint Trusted Source OctoApp The Companion Plugin for OctoApp. plugins.octoprint.org offers an application to its users for smooth remote control and monitoring of your prints. In addition to this app, you can install it on the OctoApp plug-in to offer extra functionality.
With this plug-in, you can perform the following functions:
There will be added updates and features that you can carry out after future developments and updates.
Thanks to the OctoPrint community developers, there are a plethora of plug-ins in the database. These multiple tools give users extra functionality and features to explore and enhance their 3D prints.
While there are several plug-ins available, not all are quite effective or useful to most users. Using the best OctaPrint Plug-ins ensures a better and more efficient printing experience. You can manually add any of these plug-ins to OctoPrint; Some of these tools are even modifiable under the plugin settings.
So take a look at the several top-rated options provided in this article to help you take your 3D printing to the next level.
