Printer UI

Fleet Management

31min

The Carbon Dashboard is a cloud-based tool to manage an entire fleet of printers and part washers.

By containing metadata about your prints (not about your models), you can orchestrate the work your fleet is doing from a central location.

Software updates to the dashboard are run automatically behind the scenes, so you will always have the latest tools available. (Individual printer software is updated separately.)

Printer Dashboard

The printer dashboard is your home page for all Printer UI operations. Details and the status of all printers can be referenced from this central location.

See also Printer Dashboard UI for more information on the other sidebar items.



Printer Details

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Printer Status



Printer Names

Admin users may change the names of printers in your fleet. Full functionality requires software v1.40 or higher.

Renaming Printer

  • Visit the Printer Dashboard (print.carbon3d.com)
  • Click on the three dots in the lower right-hand corner of a printer tile
  • Use the modal to input a new name for your printer
  • Submit

Software Version

Printer software runs locally on your printers over your local network and controls how the printer operates.

Software releases must be accepted before installation. This allows you to have control over installations when in the middle of a production run.

Installing Updates

  • A warning banner appears at the top of the printer dashboard when hardware is out of date.
  • Click the Details button for a list of outdated hardware (printers and part washers).
  • Uncheck any hardware that is in the middle of a production run as needed.
  • Click Update to install the latest software on the checked hardware.
  • Return to update any remaining printers when production runs are complete.
Update Software


Updates can also be made from the

  • Queues tab on the dashboard
  • Printer screen
    • The prompt seen here will appear when you open a printer
New software prompt


ⓘ Do not restart/power-cycle your printer during software updates.

Printer during a software update


You are responsible for accepting updates and installing the latest Software. Carbon actively supports only the most recent and locked Software version.

Version Lock

Carbon releases software updates on a regular cadence. We understand that certain high-volume manufacturers have rigorous protocols in place for process sensitive applications that require a high degree of validation for each software release.

Version Lock


For these applications, revalidating processes on the standard cadence can be disruptive to production schedules.

Carbon offers version lock for select software versions. The Carbon Support team will support locked versions for up to two years.

Reference this article about Version Lock for more details.

To utilize this feature, customers must opt in. Discuss the version lock option with your account manager if you think it is right for you.

Version Lock History Version lock releases overlap to offer flexibility in adoption schedules.

Version Lock

Launch

Retired

v1.39

April 2023

Active

v1.31

June 2021

Fall 2023

Version lock FAQ

Version lock product description

Queues

Add to Queue

From Project Page

  1. Add to Queue from the project page
  2. Specify print options
    1. Copies per printer
    2. Choose printers
      More than one can be selected
    3. Add notes for operator
  3. Add to queue
  4. Add more prints to queue as needed
Add to queue from project page


From Fleet Projects

  1. Add to Queue from Fleet Projects
    1. Click project for details
    2. Add to queue
  2. Specify print options
    1. Copies per printer
    2. Choose printers
      More than one can be selected
    3. Add notes for operator
  3. Add to queue
Add to queue from fleet projects


Auto Mode

When selecting printers to queue builds, the backpack icon will appear next to the printer type to indicate a printer fitted with the AO Backpack.

Choose those printers when using Auto Mode and ensure that Auto Mode is enabled at the printer or on the printer's status screen.

Printers list with M3s fitted with an AO Backpack


Prints that are not compatible with Auto Mode will be skipped and placed at the bottom of the print queue.

Hover over the Skipped in Auto Mode tag to view the reason why the print was skipped.

Skipped in Auto Mode
Skipped in Auto Mode


Reprinting

From Fleet Prints - View Print To queue a previously printed project, utilize the Print Again button. Pressing this button will queue another print of the project to the same printer where it was previously printed. The project will be resliced and a new print plan will be calculated for this print.

Print Again

  • Fleet Prints
  • View Print
  • Print Again
  • Add to Queue
    • Same printer



Print Again process


Lock the Project To yield the same results print-to-print:

  • Do not edit the project - Use the same resin
  • Use equivalent hardware (same printer type, same cassette type)
  • Same installed software version
Lock the project


Older software versions contained a Reprint... button that was disabled in software v1.42 for M3 and M3 Max printers and for all other printers in v1.43. The reprint functionality used the same slices and print plan as previously calculated. This functionality is no longer appropriate as the software has evolved to create prints plans that react to hardware conditions in real-time. Reference v1.42 and v1.43release notes for details.

The Print Again button replaced this functionality.

Revision

Note that when you send a print to queue, you are sending a revision from that moment in time. If you make additional changes to the project, you will need to send a new revision to the queue to capture changes.

Revision Date and Time
Revision Date and Time


Manage Queues

Single Printer Queue

  • Each printer has its own queue
  • Prints can be reordered



Single Printer Queue


Fleet Printers Queue

  • Drag and drop to reorder prints
    • Within one printer
    • Or between printers
  • Click on a project for details
    • Printer
    • User
    • Resin
    • Print Time
    • Print Controls
    • Edit Notes
Fleet Printers Queue


Required Resin Amount

The minimum required resin amount to run the print can be referenced in multiple locations:

Project Analysis

Project Analysis


Single Printer Queue

Single Printer Queue


Fleet Printer's Queue

Fleet Printer's Queue


Printer

Printer


Operator Notes

Notes can be used to provide the operator instructions for when they run the print. Notes can be seen on both the Single Printer Queue and the Fleet Printers Queue.

Single Printer Queue
Single Printer Queue

Fleet Printers Queue
Fleet Printers Queue


Start Print

Prints can be started from both the Single Printer Queue or at the printer itself. (Always ensure that the printer is ready and resin has been dispensed.)

Single Printer Queue
Single Printer Queue

Printer Start Button (M3 shown)
Printer Start Button (M3 shown)


Washers

The washers tab provides status information on all Smart Part Washers. Click on the number below for more details.

Washers numbered graphic

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Fleet Projects

Fleet Projects consists of any build layout created in the Printer UI, whether printed or not. Click on the number below for more details.

Fleet Projects numbered graphic

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Search Tips

Reference the Fleet Prints section for search tips. XXX

Fleet Prints

Fleet Prints consists of all projects that have been printed. This includes prints that did not complete printing, such as aborted prints. Click on the number below for more details.

Document image

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Search Tips

  • You can bookmark your searches.
    • If you frequently use particular search terms, bookmarking saves a URL that captures your search terms.
  • Part file names (STL files) are among the terms that can be searched.
    • This can be particularly useful when printing bespoke parts. For example, if you need to find a particular dental customer's ID number, putting that number in the file name can later help you find what print that part was on.

Export to CSV

Export to CSV


All print data can be exported as a .CSV file.

This can be especially useful to tracks parts when using tokens as part labels. Examples include:

  • Printer Serial Number with token {printer_serial}
  • Print ID with token {print_uuid}
  • Project ID with token {project_id}
  • STL File Names with token {part_name}

Analytics

The Printer UI offers options for analyzing your print history. Click on the number below for more details.

Analytics numbered graphic

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Resin Forecasting

This document describes the information displayed in the Analytics tool located in the Carbon Printer Dashboard, and provides instructions on how to use this tool to forecast resin usage for your printer fleet.