Prusa MK4 3D Printer Timelapse App with Kotlin | Capture Every Layer Change!

I made this Android app using Kotlin, it is designed for creating timelapse videos on 3D printers.
This Kotlin-powered application, developed in Android Studio, seamlessly connects to your Prusa MK4 printer, capturing snapshots at every Z-layer change. 📸#3DPrinting #PrusaMK4 #KotlinApp
Github[Source]: github.com/UpdateNinja/3D_Pri...
Add this custom g code to prusa slicer after layer change:
;AFTER_LAYER_CHANGE
G1 X5 Y205 F{travel_speed*60} ;Move away from the print
G4 S0 ;Wait for move to finish
M221 S0
G4 P3000 ;Wait for 3000ms
M221 S100
;[layer_z]
Song : GOOD VIBE - twisterium [Free Copyright Music]

[@aantoniv]

This idea looks cool! Going to test it this week! Thanks for the open source ;)

[@simplecad7462]

Thanks! Let me know how it works for you, i have currently tested it only on Galaxy S21 and Android 13.0 . Some older phones with older android might have some issues.

[@VikingVeteranArtisan]

I am trying to do this. I understand the printer side, like in terms of the machine. The computer side i am oblivious to. I Have a few old phones i am using with Prusa Connect. Is there a way i can, in more simple ways have them talk. I'd love to see #PrusaSlicer have a feature to capture a picture directly and save it. I feel i read they may be working on it. I believe this could be the solution to both maybe?
Thanks anyway this is an amazing start for my base knowledge, id love to help in and test you like the run with my equipment currently a few MK4s

[@kennethsawyer7624]

How does the detection for "parked" work? I'm wondering what kind of modifications to the per layer gcode I might need to do to get this working with an XL. Also as a side question, I have not really done much in the way of getting into/using APIs, looks like this is all just open communication (after sign in) to the printer itself, and the API is just working as a handshake between the two (phone is polling to see the status, and if in park, take photo?). I'm wondering if i could rig something up like this using a PC and webcam to do the same types of checks.

[@simplecad7462]

Hi, you are correct you can read printer api data from. 192.168.100.xx/api/v1/status
data is formatted JSON, so you can parse it and use how you like.
You can use use this python code to read data from prusa using computer:
import requests
from requests.auth import HTTPDigestAuth
import json
import time
URL = '192.168.xx.xx/api/v1/status'
USERNAME = 'maker'
PASSWORD = 'xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
while True:
try:
response = requests.get(URL, auth=HTTPDigestAuth(USERNAME, PASSWORD))
if response.status_code == 200:
try:
data = json.loads(response.text)
print(json.dumps(data, indent=4))
except ValueError:
print("Response content is not in JSON format.")
print("Response content:", response.content)
else:
print(f"Request failed with status code {response.status_code}")
except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
print(f"An error occurred: {e}")
time.sleep(2)

[@kennethsawyer7624]

@@simplecad7462 Dude! Thank you for an awesome starting point here. I know what my next project is.

[@marcus.makes3d]

Do the pictures get saved to the phone when they're taken? Sorry kinda a noob but really wanna get this setup on my mk4. Also does the phone have to be new? Like what version of Android does it need?

[@simplecad7462]

Pictures are saved on phone. You can try it, if android is too old it might not be able to save pictures because of android permission rules.

[@jaydenjegachandran557]

I'm a little confused on how to set it up

[@simplecad7462]

First you have to setup Prusa wifi normally and make sure you can connect printer from web browser. Setup custom g code as seen in the video, this works as trigger for taking picture. Then use app to connect printer

[@IdahoDualSport]

May I ask what phone mount are you using?

[@simplecad7462]

Hi, it is this from thinginverse: www.thingiverse.com/thing:2194278
I modified it little bit so there is embedded magnets and it can be attached to metal enclosure.

[@IdahoDualSport]

Very cool, thank you! I'm going to try this out. I'll let you know how it goes.

[@IdahoDualSport]

@@simplecad7462 This entire setup works excellent! Thanks for sharing! Working on Motorola One Action w/ Android 10

[@simplecad7462]

@@IdahoDualSport Great to hear it works!