How 3DPrinterOS helped scale Duke University's 3D printing lab

Managing a large number of 3D printers at the same time is not an easy task. At Duke University, the need to manage a large number of units (up to 120 3D printers) is a challenge. Every hour, every day, every week, more than 250 students use 3D printers for their scientific work  regularly. They create both prototypes and final products.

These important developments already surround us today in everyday life: copies of body parts based on X-ray models of human organs, details of various electronic devices and much more. It is important that the students’ inspirations and dreams are not hampered by technical limitations.

Today, the number of their 3D-printed jobs can reach 6000 per month. Managing this number of print jobs is nearly impossible without 3DPrinterOS – a cloud 3D printer management software. It solves important problems like eliminating the need to use SD cards, introduces print queues and file management, calculates the printing time and the filament used. For such a large network of printers and users like Duke University’s lab, this is a critical issue.

The printing process can be controlled from anywhere in the world. The user-friendly interface shows at what stage the printing process is and the live stream shows the actual state of the 3D print. Thus, students do not need to be in the laboratory constantly, when it's not needed.

3DPrinterOS includes tools that allow the user to upload, fix and prepare files for 3D printing on more than 160 3D printer models without the need to use any other software.

3DPrinterOS allowed Duke University’s 3D printing lab to increase the number of printers involved in the work by almost seven times and to spend more than 9000 kg of material since they started. Impressive results for the team, whose limit was 8 printers and 150 print jobs per month before the 3DPrinterOS.