Printer Dashboard Release Notes
The printer dashboard operates in the Carbon cloud and supplements the printer software to manage hardware fleets.
Filter Printer Dashboard by printer type
On the Printer Dashboard, the display of printers can now be filtered by type (M2, M3, etc.) and, for customers with at least one AO Backpack, by printers that do or do not have an AO Backpack attached. This makes it easier to quickly identify printers that match desired criteria.
Improvements AO Backpack workflows
Easily filter Automatic Mode prints
The Fleet Prints list (customer.print.carbon3d.com/prints) can now be easily filtered to view or hide prints in Automatic Mode and/or Debris Removal cycles.
Identify projects skipped in Automatic Mode
The Fleet Queues list (customer.print.carbon3d.com/queue) now identifies any projects that were skipped while the printer was in Automatic Mode due to part height, the use of a resin other than DPR 10, or the use of a release film (all of which are incompatible with the AO Backpack). Such projects remain in the queue and can be printed in Manual Mode.
Printer type labeled on printer tiles
On the Printer Dashboard at print.carbon3d.com, each printer tile is now clearly labeled with the printer type (MX3, M3, M2, M1, or L1) below the printer name.
Note: This improvement was originally published as available November 20, 2024; an unrelated technical issue resulted in Carbon temporarily withdrawing the update. The feature is now available.
EPU 46 Color Mixing Tool
An easy-to-use color mixing tool is now available for EPU 46, an energy-returning material with tunable stiffness. Simply input your desired color (as RGB/HSL values, via a Hex color code, or selected from an interactive visual palette) to view required amounts of EPU 46 Color Base, EPU 46 Part A Black, and available tints.
Adjust the amount of resin required to proportionally update amounts. Use the “Copy Pigments and Tints to Clipboard” button to quickly capture information and paste it in another document.
Access the EPU 46 Color Mixing Tool from your Printer Dashboard by clicking “Color Mixing” on the left-hand menu. Note that UMA 90 color calculations are available via the same tool; ensure you are selecting the proper resin before creating a recipe.
This online tool is an alternative to the EPU 46 Color Calculator Spreadsheet available in Carbon Academy.
Not all colors will be achievable; note any differences between the colors pictured in the “Target” and “Formula Prediction” boxes and consider adjusting your target color if the outcome is not likely to be acceptable.
You can now specify that only Admins can accept/install software updates for your printers. This feature may be useful to organizations that have restrictions around when and how software updates are accepted.
To enable this setting, an Admin user should navigate to Company Feature Settings and turn “Only Admins can update printer software” to ON, then press UPDATE at the bottom of the page to save the new setting.
When this setting is enabled, Users and Operators will no longer see notifications about pending software updates. Please ensure that Admins are aware of and responsive to new software, as Carbon printers must be on current software versions in order to receive full support.
This feature can be enabled or disabled at any time. “Admin only” software update acceptance applies to installations of printer software v1.42 or later. Printers must have v1.41 installed in order for the feature to work as intended (updating to v1.42 from an older version may not restrict access as expected).
Prints queued to physical printers from Cloud Prepare (currently an Early Access Product under limited release) are now appropriately included in the Fleet Prints list on the Printer Dashboard.
In the Analytics section of the Printer Dashboard, the default selection for resin measurement is changed from “All” to “Part & Supports Only” to reflect the most common use case for this dashboard. Additional descriptive text has been added for clarity.
Easily Rename Printers on Demand
You can now easily rename printers in your fleet at will. Flexible printer names can help you organize your production floor in a logical, understandable manner.
To rename a printer, visit the Printer Dashboard (print.carbon3d.com) and 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.
Printers can be renamed from the Dashboard regardless of their installed software version, but renaming is intended for use with printer software v1.40+. For printers on earlier software versions, renaming a printer on the Dashboard will prompt the new name to display in some areas of the interface (areas that are governed by the Printer Dashboard itself), but other areas of the interface (such as the printer project list, print list, and queue management interface) will not reflect the update unless/until v1.40 is installed.
Additional notes about using this feature:
- Renaming is only available to Admin users. Individuals with the User or Operator role type cannot rename printers
- Renaming a printer may take several minutes to propagate throughout the system
- Printer names must be unique within your organization; you cannot have two printers with the same name
- Printer names can contain 1-20 alphanumeric characters and select symbols: dash (-) and period (.). Spaces are allowed, but become dashes (-) when transcribed into a printer URL. Underscores are not allowed. Regardless of whether you have entered an upper- or lowercase character, the first character of a printer name will be automatically capitalized in some areas of display
- While the name you have chosen will be displayed wherever you see the printer name, Carbon will maintain a consistent record of the printer’s name at the time of manufacture, allowing for continuity in record-keeping. If you use print or printer data available via API endpoints or CSV exports, your chosen printer name will be reflected in the field labeled “printer alias.” “Printer name” will continue to reflect the printer’s name at manufacture
- If your organization employs strict network settings that require specific whitelisting of allowed URLs, note that changing the name of a printer will require coordination with your IT team. Every Carbon printer has its own URL, and with the installation of printer software v1.40, changing the name of a printer will now alter this URL. Before renaming any printers, confirm requirements with your IT team to ensure your access to the printer interface is not interrupted.
Printer renaming can be disabled upon request by contacting [email protected].
Improvements to the visual display of printer tiles
- Printers that are opted into the Version Lock program are marked with a lock icon to provide a customer-facing indication that software Version Lock is in force for the printer
- If the lock icon is missing for a printer you believe should be Version Locked, reach out to [email protected]
- Printer tiles are wider for an improved display experience
- Improvements to line-wrapping of long printer names and current/pending software versions
Users with the Operator role can now print builds from the Build Catalog that have the status “Released.” (Previously, Operators could not print from the Build Catalog.)
Release notes were not published for changes to the Printer Dashboard prior to August, 2023.