Hello guys, today I’m going to talk to you about a project that I and a team have been working on this past year, The Atelier. Back in 2015 I started my trip in the 3DPrinting world, with that an adventure started, and I’m still on this path still. In 2016 I was already working within the KDE Community with the goal to make the free software world bigger through Atelier the 3D Printer Host, and with my affinity to 3DPrinting and some connections, me and 3 guys started this project that today Is presented to you: Atelier.
What is Atelier?
Atelier is a 3D Printer Host, in other words, a 3D printer host is a software capable to do the management of one or more printers from a PC or Raspberry PI for example. Backing up us is the Free Software ideology that follows 3DPrinting since the creation of RepRap project.
Today our project is divided into two parts: The API that manages all serial communication with the printer, and the Interface itself. The API we call AtCore (Atelier’s Core) and the interface is Atelier.
So, our first effort was to work on AtCore. We needed to guarantee that the serial communication was ok and to support the open source firmwares laying around like Marlin and Repetier. We chose to use Qt and C++ for the job. Qt is a framework for C++ that give us a high-level of libs to handle for us almost everything and giving the plus to make our software multiplatform without worry on which OS is running the application.
With that in mind, last week we launched the beta version of AtCore. What we want here is: To test this API. For that, we launched AtCore with a TestClient, where you can test all basic controls that a host should have: Printing, Temperatures Monitor agent, Axis movement, and logging. We currently have support for Marlin, Repetier, Smoothie, Sprinter, Teacup and the father of all: GRBL, giving us the support for CNC’s too. All those firmwares had basic testing, with Repetier having more than 30 hours of testing since one of our developers have a printer running this firmware. So we need your help to make that number of hours to get up for each of those firmwares, and maybe help us to support more of them.
We know that a printer host needs a lot of more features, but we can’t give you that, if our API, that is critical for this application isn’t stable or working well.
With AtCore reaching the stableness, we can focus on which features Atelier should have on its interface. We want to make the life of the user, from a beginner to an advanced, easier.
Atelier will have more work down the road, and its launch doesn’t have a date. However, you can sneak peak our work testing AtCore.
I will list you two reviews that I have from friends that tested our work when in alpha stage so you can see what we’re up to:
“It’s client and library are very useful to fulfill a deficiency in slicers like Cura and slic3r, and besides that for presenting a more competent and flexible alternative to the ones already in the market. Also, it makes part of an important foundation base for the growth of a 3D Printing API framework based on open-source.” Claudio Sampaio (MakerLinux)
“I can briefly summarize this software: Stable, competent, functional and fast. Software that fulfills what it promises, excellent support, allows the use of any printer that I have at home and the best: open-source because we know what is running on our machines!” Roberto Reis
My personal goal for this project is to make the 3DPrinting world a better place. Where you have a software for all platforms, that doesn’t change its interface because they weren’t written in the same programming language. Where they don’t close the source code after some years. As KDE Community wants, you need to have the freedom to do whatever you want. I want to use the power of the community to build a project that completes the idea that came with RepRap back in 2004. And for that, I would love your support!
So, how can you support us?
Get to atelier.kde.org to get to know about the project, read the docs and download the binaries of AtCore TestClient Beta and share with us the results!
You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/KDEAtelier
If you want to chat you can find us on Telegram at @KDEAtelier, and on freenode IRC #kde-atelier (It has a bridge for telegram too). If you are from Brazil or talk Portuguese you can join the Brazilian group on Telegram at @KDEAtelierBrasil.
You can also find us on the following mail list: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/atelier
I would love to hear from you what you think about us, and I hope that together we can make this world a better place for 3DPrinting.
Last but not least you can check our code on Github: AtCore | Atelier
Ps.: We would love to receive your PR, however, the Github sources are just a mirror from KDE git, join our channels that we can explain how you can send a patch for a review!
You can read more about the project on my personal blog here.
Hi, very interesting projetct. In the future, does it will be an alternative for octoprint or 3dprinteros ?
Better – 3D Printer DNC Software.
Wonder if any of these will work for a plotter
This is quite interesting but it seems to me that Astroprint currently has way more features for 3d printer owners.
Looks like you have been really busy! I am without a 3D printer right now but I would have tried it. I hope everything is still working out good for your software. It’s great to have people like you in 3D printing that makes the hobby better…and FREE!!! Thanks for your hard work!
Thanks for information.