Hello, I was wondering if you Octoprint could add support for the Flashforge Guider II. I figure it's possible considering 3DPrinterOS has some support for it. When I try using Octoprint on it, it won't even connect to the port.
It's likely close to the FlashForge Creator Pro. Look at the printer profile thread and scroll to the far right for that definition and read the comments.
Hey Josh, could you confirm that it does work when you set it up? I just got the same printer and am interested in doing the same thing.
Thanks!
@OutsourcedGuru sorry I didn't see your comment (didn't get an email about it) I'll check it out
@Matthew_Woods nah doesn't work. I've tried numerous things I tried getting in touch with the developer who didn't respond so I don't think it'll receive support. I think I read somewhere they tried blaming Flashforge but I've found it works with 3DPrinterOS. So it's something with Octoprint and others (I've only been successfully with one)
Josh,
Which did you find that worked? What does your set-up do? Can you still operate the printer remotely? Can you hook up multiple Cameras?
My main concern is running out of filament. I wish I had known about the Guider iis before purchasing the printer. The filament run-out detector and on-board camera are amazing features. Anyway to add these to the guider? Alternatives to Octoprint?
(Really, only want to Pause or Stop prints remotely based on errors or filament run-out. I use Simplify3d and print from USB so I don't need the on-board computer/slicer. Thought I'd put two cameras on it. One on the print bed and one on the filament spool on the back. If I notice a print error I want to stop it while I'm away. Or if I see the spool is running out, I can pause the print while away as well.)
Thanks!!!
Hello Matthew,
I use 3DPrinterOS and will continue maybe until Octoprint add support for the Guider II with 3DPrinterOS you can use multiple cameras, at the moment I got one at eye level of the bed and one looking down at the bed and there is an option for a 3rd camera too (I'm guessing it'll let you keep adding cameras). The problem I've had with 3DPrinterOS is the manual controls sometimes don't work (sometime delay and sometimes just don't work).
What I've done with my whole setup is upon buying my Guider II it came with Simplify3D so seen Simplify3D doesn't have support to connect over the network to the printer I made it so when I click print it'll deploy a script which opens the 3DPrinterOS website so all I need to do is slice the stl, click print (which then opens the 3DPrinterOS website) upload the .gcode file click print again and it's sent to the printer. Sending things to the printer from the website works every time too so no problems with the normally used controls. The only time I've had problems with 3DPrinterOS is when using manual controls (moving the extruder/bed/temperature/etc... manually).
Also with filament runout. My Guider II has a filament runout detector. Yours doesn't? If it definitely doesn't you can always look into making your own using a ESP8266 and lever switch. Then just look up the code, from there you can make it send you an email, notify your phone, etc... (any other kind of notifying method).
In case you're interested in the same Simplify3D setup I used, put this "cmd /c start https://cloud.3dprinteros.com/myfiles/#show=upload" (without the quotation marks) in the post processing text box in the scripts tab.
At the moment I'm printing something that's going to take about 2 hours so when it's finished I'll try printing something smaller and try out pausing it and stopping it. I'll let you know what happens.
Josh,
This may be getting off topic and I apologize, but how do you get the guider ii's filament run-out detection to work? My printer runs through the filament and then continues printing without filament. Even worse, i have to remove the cover housing and extruding motor to pull out the small bit of filament left in the hot end that couldn't be pushed through. I've only ever owned a Wanhao Duplicator i3 and am not familiar with how the Flashforge Guider ii really works in and out.
Thank you!
I don't know how to get the Guider IIs filament run-out detector to work. My Guider II just worked. The only thing I can think of is maybe you have an older Guider II model because for instance I used to own a Finder which supposedly come with a run-out detector but mine didn't. So maybe yous doesn't have one, it's located on the back a little black rectangle.
Hi Guys,
Did this ever get fixed? I’ve got a Guider IIS and I really want to add Octoprint to it. I know that the IIS already has camera and cloud functionality but want to add Octoprint as it would allow my home automation system to interface with the printer. I would be able to get voice announcements to say when the print has finished or if it’s been interrupted. Similarly I would be able to ask for a voice announcement to give me time remaining - and when it’s complete automatically power down the printer. It would be amazing - but before I buy all of the kit I need to know that the Guider IIS can work with Octoprint - I only need it to work via USB.
Many thanks for your help!
Jay 
Hello I haven't tried it recently but if you give me till tomorrow I'll check.
I had similar plans, I did find another company that does work with the printer called 3DPrinterOS but it doesn't have much smart home automation features you can check my comment about it here Support for Flashforge Guider II
Hey Josh !
Thankyou so much I would really appreciate it !
Best wishes,
Jay
I tried loading 3DPrinterOS in case I could write some code to scrape the data from the webpage on the client. For some reason the Windows client doesn’t recognise the Guider II in the setup wizard even though the USB is plugged in and it’s powered.
Hi there, did you try using the FlashForge plugin? It will allow some control of FlashForge machines and printing by uploading the gcode file directly to the SD card.
Please raise an issue on the GitHub repo and provide the USB Device ID to get the plugin to support the Guider.
Hey I'm sorry for the late response I only recently found out my emails weren't being sent from my phone. I thought I'd check the forum and saw my replies weren't added. I'm guessing by now you've got something else to work for you, but again sorry but the anticlimactic response I got it I couldn't get it working, I thought I could try running OctoPrint on my Raspberry Pi and connecting the printer to Polar Cloud then using the Polar Cloud plug-in with OctoPrint to control it but it worked the other way, which was to use Polar Cloud to manage printer connected to OctoPrint (so in other words I couldn't get anything to work).
If you've found something to work please let me know.
As a side note if you have experience with API's the plan I had that might work could be to connect the printer to Polar Cloud then connect OctoPrint to Polar Cloud via the API.
Hello,
I've tried that plugin but couldn't get it to work.
Hey Josh!
The plugin is working ! There are some bits which the programmer is actively working on, but check out the github page as there are massive developments happening on it !
Cheers,
Jay
So what did you have to do to get it working?
Hi Josh,
If you check out the GitHub there’s a thread / issue that I started on there which details everything. The developer had to add the USB details for the Guider IIS in order for it to be recognised. I also had to add the USB device in the Raspberry Pi to allow it to access the USB.
Cheers,
Jay
Works on my Guider II now.