Makerware
Author: b | 2025-04-24
makerbot.com/replicator2Xmakerbot.com/makerware MakerWare is the software that prepare
MakerWare - Download MakerWare 2, 2.4 for
For my book (yes, got it in early) I had to explore MakerWare for the first time, for the sake of completeness. Before I’ve never really had any incentive to switch over and I still don’t. I do like like that MakerWare allows you to plate multiple objects easily and I’m currently trying to see if it’s slicer does a better job of making high quality prints or is faster with which so far has been promising.Overall I think I can say that MakerWare is it’s not better or worse than ReplicatorG, which is kind of disappointing. Yes, there are things that MakerWare does better, but then there are still things that ReplicatorG does better, and that perplexes me. And the new version still doesn’t address these things. Yes, improved rafts and supports are good, but I still need to edit a json file to change filament diameter, the silver bullet to good prints. I do not understand why this option wasn’t put on the gui, nevermind that there isn’t a more appealing way to change custom settings than editing a text file. Yes, I can do it, yes, json is pretty close to human readable, but for a piece of software that is obsessively trying to make 3D printing easy for the masses this seems like a pretty egregious oversight.Oh, and be careful where you install MakerWare. It wiped out my ReplicatorG when I upgraded MakerWare because I accidentally put them in the same directory a while back. Silly me, I thought they’d use the same convention as everyone else and they don’t. MakerWare installs by default in a directory called %programfiles%makerbot, not %programfiles%makerbotmakerware like everyone else. And their uninstall doesn’t just remove the files it installed, it nukes the whole directory.What do we get with the new version of MakerWare? Improved rafts, improved supports, and better infill. The hex fill doesn’t bug out when set to 100% and that’s good. But do we really need cat infill? The feature that would have convinced me to start using Makerware more would be if I could make those fancy support come out of the other extruder so I could start playing with PVA.As for their new firmware I still do not know why they don’t just license Sailfish. What they’ve added to the new firmware is only a percentage of what sailfish has been doing for a while already. I’m leaving my firmware right where it is.EDIT: Just discovered something else strange: MakerWare generated files heat up both extruder heads the whole time which causes the unused extruder to leak. This is a big problem so I think I’ll be avoiding MakerWare a little longer.EDIT2: Apparently the uninstall problem and Open up the bottom to inspect the board. You may even have to remove the Gen 4 shield (Motherboard v2.X) from the Arduino board. If that is the case, then carefully remove it, lifting straight up. When re-attaching it, be careful to not bend any of the pins.Stop Conveyor if using MakerWare(tm)The Conveyor component of MakerWare(tm) takes control of the USB connection to your bot and prevents ReplicatorG from communicating with the bot. Conveyor remains running in the background even if MakerWare is not running. You must stop Conveyor before updating your firmware and using ReplicatorG to communicate with your bot. Note that you can continue to use MakerWare to manipulate STL files and generate gcode, even when Conveyor is stopped.To stop Conveyor, launch MakerWare(tm). From MakerWare's "Services" menu, select the "Stop Conveyor" item. To restart Conveyor, use the "Services" menu's "Restart Conveyor" item.Updating the Extruder Controller firmwareThe Sailfish firmware is a derivative of version 3.1 of the motherboard firmware. Consequently, you must first ensure that your Thing-o-Matic's Extruder Controller (EC) is updated to v3.1 firmware. You can do this with ReplicatorG as per the directions found atThing-o-Matic ECThing-o-Matic owners should complete this step before beginning the next step.This step is not necessary for Cupcakes using Gen 3 electronics and the 3G5D shield. However, directions on upgrading your Plastruder firmware may be found at:Plastruder Firmware UpdateObtaining the Sailfish firmwareStart ReplicatorG and and from the ReplicatorG menu, select “Preferences”. Click the “Advanced” button. Change the “Firmware update URL” field from: clickMakerware (@makerware) Instagram photos and videos
Can be animated using the built-in Previewer. This allows you to see what the print will look like before actually running it on your machine. If you are happy with the build preview, you have two options to begin printing. First, you could simply copy the output .x3g file to your Replicator 2’s SD card. Plug the card back into your machine and then use the built-in LCD menu to select “Build from SD” and choose the file you wish to print. The second option is to use the software’s built-in Machine Control Panel. You can find this window by going to Tools > Machine Control Panel. The .x3g file you just prepared should be listed in your G-Code library along with the estimated print time and filament usage. Select the line item you wish to print and choose “Run Selected G-Code”.Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of the guide and you are now ready to start making things using the Simplify3D software with your Makerbot 3D printer! If you have further questions feel free to contact our technical support staff and we will be happy to assist you.TroubleshootingIf you run into problems during your first print, here are a few common troubleshooting tips you can try.Please make sure that the filename you choose when clicking the Prepare button is less than 30 characters. Note: You cannot simply rename the file to something shorter, you must export it a second time from the software using the shorter name.If you are using a Windows computer, please make sure that you have installed the necessary MakerBot Mightyboard drivers. If you have already installed MakerWare or RepG, you do not need to worry about this.If you have MakerWare installed on your computer, please make sure that the Conveyor service is disabled before trying to. makerbot.com/replicator2Xmakerbot.com/makerware MakerWare is the software that prepare makerbot.com/replicator2Xmakerbot.com/makerware MakerWare is the software that prepareMakerWare - Download MakerWare 2, 2.4 for Windows
Connect to your printer using the Simplify3D software. You can do this by opening MakerWare and going to Services > Stop Background Service. Using a Different MakerBot Printer?If you are using an older printer like the Thing-O-Matic or the Cupcake CNC, there are only a few additional changes you will need to make. To begin, it is a good idea to select the included Replicator 2 profile as a starting point. It is very similar to some of Makerbot’s earlier printers so it will save you some additional configuration. The next thing you will need to do is click the “Show Advanced” button on your FFF settings window. This will display some of the more detailed settings that we offer.Many of Makerbot’s earlier printers had a much smaller build volume than the latest Replicator lineup. If your machine has different X/Y/Z dimensions, you will need to change them on the “G-Code” tab of your FFF Settings window. The X/Y/Z dimensions for the “Update Machine Definition” section will need to be updated to match your machine. Most Makerbot printers also place the coordinate system origin in the center of the build platform. In this case, you should also update the X and Y origin offsets to be half the X/Y dimensions. For example, if your machine has a 100x150x200mm build volume, you would want the origin offset to be 50x75x0mm. The virtual build table in the software will be updated to match the settings you specify here.The last thing to do is to edit the starting and ending G-Code scripts so that they work with your particular setup. For example, the Replicator 2 starting G-Code script uses a special position just slightly off the edge of the build plate which allows the nozzle to be primed without getting plastic all overgrandpaul/makerware-snap: snap package for makerware - GitHub
GitHub - nrdvana/makerware-docker: Run Makerbot's Makerware
. makerbot.com/replicator2Xmakerbot.com/makerware MakerWare is the software that prepare makerbot.com/replicator2Xmakerbot.com/makerware MakerWare is the software that prepareMakerWare 2.3 Download - makerware.exe
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For my book (yes, got it in early) I had to explore MakerWare for the first time, for the sake of completeness. Before I’ve never really had any incentive to switch over and I still don’t. I do like like that MakerWare allows you to plate multiple objects easily and I’m currently trying to see if it’s slicer does a better job of making high quality prints or is faster with which so far has been promising.Overall I think I can say that MakerWare is it’s not better or worse than ReplicatorG, which is kind of disappointing. Yes, there are things that MakerWare does better, but then there are still things that ReplicatorG does better, and that perplexes me. And the new version still doesn’t address these things. Yes, improved rafts and supports are good, but I still need to edit a json file to change filament diameter, the silver bullet to good prints. I do not understand why this option wasn’t put on the gui, nevermind that there isn’t a more appealing way to change custom settings than editing a text file. Yes, I can do it, yes, json is pretty close to human readable, but for a piece of software that is obsessively trying to make 3D printing easy for the masses this seems like a pretty egregious oversight.Oh, and be careful where you install MakerWare. It wiped out my ReplicatorG when I upgraded MakerWare because I accidentally put them in the same directory a while back. Silly me, I thought they’d use the same convention as everyone else and they don’t. MakerWare installs by default in a directory called %programfiles%makerbot, not %programfiles%makerbotmakerware like everyone else. And their uninstall doesn’t just remove the files it installed, it nukes the whole directory.What do we get with the new version of MakerWare? Improved rafts, improved supports, and better infill. The hex fill doesn’t bug out when set to 100% and that’s good. But do we really need cat infill? The feature that would have convinced me to start using Makerware more would be if I could make those fancy support come out of the other extruder so I could start playing with PVA.As for their new firmware I still do not know why they don’t just license Sailfish. What they’ve added to the new firmware is only a percentage of what sailfish has been doing for a while already. I’m leaving my firmware right where it is.EDIT: Just discovered something else strange: MakerWare generated files heat up both extruder heads the whole time which causes the unused extruder to leak. This is a big problem so I think I’ll be avoiding MakerWare a little longer.EDIT2: Apparently the uninstall problem and
2025-03-29Open up the bottom to inspect the board. You may even have to remove the Gen 4 shield (Motherboard v2.X) from the Arduino board. If that is the case, then carefully remove it, lifting straight up. When re-attaching it, be careful to not bend any of the pins.Stop Conveyor if using MakerWare(tm)The Conveyor component of MakerWare(tm) takes control of the USB connection to your bot and prevents ReplicatorG from communicating with the bot. Conveyor remains running in the background even if MakerWare is not running. You must stop Conveyor before updating your firmware and using ReplicatorG to communicate with your bot. Note that you can continue to use MakerWare to manipulate STL files and generate gcode, even when Conveyor is stopped.To stop Conveyor, launch MakerWare(tm). From MakerWare's "Services" menu, select the "Stop Conveyor" item. To restart Conveyor, use the "Services" menu's "Restart Conveyor" item.Updating the Extruder Controller firmwareThe Sailfish firmware is a derivative of version 3.1 of the motherboard firmware. Consequently, you must first ensure that your Thing-o-Matic's Extruder Controller (EC) is updated to v3.1 firmware. You can do this with ReplicatorG as per the directions found atThing-o-Matic ECThing-o-Matic owners should complete this step before beginning the next step.This step is not necessary for Cupcakes using Gen 3 electronics and the 3G5D shield. However, directions on upgrading your Plastruder firmware may be found at:Plastruder Firmware UpdateObtaining the Sailfish firmwareStart ReplicatorG and and from the ReplicatorG menu, select “Preferences”. Click the “Advanced” button. Change the “Firmware update URL” field from: click
2025-04-12Can be animated using the built-in Previewer. This allows you to see what the print will look like before actually running it on your machine. If you are happy with the build preview, you have two options to begin printing. First, you could simply copy the output .x3g file to your Replicator 2’s SD card. Plug the card back into your machine and then use the built-in LCD menu to select “Build from SD” and choose the file you wish to print. The second option is to use the software’s built-in Machine Control Panel. You can find this window by going to Tools > Machine Control Panel. The .x3g file you just prepared should be listed in your G-Code library along with the estimated print time and filament usage. Select the line item you wish to print and choose “Run Selected G-Code”.Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of the guide and you are now ready to start making things using the Simplify3D software with your Makerbot 3D printer! If you have further questions feel free to contact our technical support staff and we will be happy to assist you.TroubleshootingIf you run into problems during your first print, here are a few common troubleshooting tips you can try.Please make sure that the filename you choose when clicking the Prepare button is less than 30 characters. Note: You cannot simply rename the file to something shorter, you must export it a second time from the software using the shorter name.If you are using a Windows computer, please make sure that you have installed the necessary MakerBot Mightyboard drivers. If you have already installed MakerWare or RepG, you do not need to worry about this.If you have MakerWare installed on your computer, please make sure that the Conveyor service is disabled before trying to
2025-03-26