PrusaLink / Prusa Connect with RPi 3/4 USB (MK2.5/S MK3/S/+)

Relevant for:

MK2.5 MK2.5S MK3 MK3S MK3S+

Last updated 7 months ago

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Available languages

Step 1 Introduction

⬢

In this guide, we will get PrusaLink running on the full Raspberry Pi 3/4 board and connect it to your MK2.5/S or MK3/S/+ printer using USB.

⬢If you want to use PrusaLink with the smaller RPi Zero connected via GPIO, use another printer type or just crave for more info, visit the Prusa Connect and PrusaLink explained article.

PrusaLink enables your Original Prusa MK3/S/+ printer to be connected to a 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi network and be managed remotely via Prusa Connect.

⬢If you prefer a wired network, there is an Ethernet port you can use.

⬢Make sure you are running the latest firmware (3.10.1 and up) on your printer.

This guide is intended for experienced users.

Step 2 Parts preparation: Raspberry Pi

⬢For the following steps, please get:

⬢

Raspberry Pi (RPi) model 3, 3+ or 4 board.

⬢Get RPi 4B from our e-shop.

Make sure you are getting the original Raspberry Pi. This guide isn't covering any other fruit alternatives like Banana Pi, Orange Pi, etc.

⬢Raspberry Pi case of your choice. (you can for example print one from Printables.com)

⬢Corresponding Raspberry Pi power supply. (Pi model 3 uses microUSB while the model 4 uses USB-C plug)

⬢MicroSD card. (8GB or larger SDHC card, Class10, preferably a name brand one)

⬢USB A to USB B cable. (supplied with your printer)

Step 3 Preparing necessary software

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Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager from raspberrypi.org/software

⬢Download the PrusaLink SD card image

The latest releases are always available at Github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Link/releases

Look for the Assets under the latest release. The image file has a filename such as "prusalink-0.7.2.img.xz".

⬢Insert an empty micro SD Card into your computer.

⬢

Open the Raspberry Pi Imager. Hit the CHOOSE OS, navigate to Use Custom and select the downloaded PrusaLink SD card image file.

⬢Click CHOOSE STORAGE and select the micro SD card.

Don't hit the WRITE button yet! We must set up the Wi-Fi and other things first :)

Step 4 Setting up the SD card in Pi Imager

⬢Choose to EDIT the OS Customisation settings.

⬢

You can set a hostname. Preferably, use a unique hostname for the given printer, for example, gertruda.local - Use just plain text with no special characters.

A hostname will allow you to access the printer more easily by typing just http://gertruda.local into your browser instead of the printer's IP address. If you leave the default PrusaLink.local hostname, there is a chance more printers are using the same hostname on one network. Remember the hostname now, you won't be able to change or view it easily later.

Depending on your local network settings, the hostname might not work and you might need to use the IP Address instead.

There is no need to set a device username and password in this dialog! SSH is for experienced users only.

Step 5 Setting up the SD card in Pi Imager 2

There is no need to set a device username and password in this dialog! SSH is for experienced users only.

⬢Configure wireless LAN ( Wi-Fi ) if you plan to use the wireless network.

⬢Set the SSID (the name of the local Wi-Fi network you are using) and Password.

⬢Save the settings, hit WRITE and confirm formatting of the micro SD card.

Follow the instructions in the Pi Imager app only. Don't follow your operating system's notifications about the microSD Card and its formatting if there are any.

Step 6 Inserting the SD card

⬢Insert the microSD card with PrusaLink image into the Raspberry Pi.

⬢Install the Raspberry Pi into a protective cover.

Step 7 Connecting the RPi to the printer

⬢Take the USB-A to USB-B cable.

⬢Connect the USB-A part into one of the USB ports on the Raspberry Pi.

⬢Connect the USB-B part into the top of the electronics box on the printer.

Step 8 Powering up the Raspberry Pi

⬢Turn on the printer.

⬢Connect the Raspberry Pi power supply.

Step 9 Setting the printer up

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On the printer, visit the menu > Support, scroll down to check that you have firmware version 3.10.1 or newer. If not, please upgrade your firmware to the latest version (3.10.1 and up)

⬢

Go to the menu > Settings > RPi port and make sure it is set to OFF

The RPi port setting must be OFF if you’re connecting the RPi using USB. To use RPi Zero connected to GPIO, it must be set to ON.

⬢Wait for a moment until the Raspberry Pi boots up.

⬢

You might see "RPi Booting..." or "Starting Prusa Link" messages on your LCD before PrusaLink boots up.

Step 10 Setting the printer up

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After your PrusaLink boots up, you should see a number on the bottom of your LCD. This is the IP Address of your printer.

⬢From now on, the IP Address can be also found in the Support menu of your printer.

This IP address is available on your local network only and might change over time according to your network setup.

If the LCD shows NO IP, it means you may have poor signal or other network issues. Try moving the printer closer to the Wi-Fi access point.

If the LCD indicates NO LAN ACCESS or another network error, re-visit step 9 to configure the Wi-Fi settings again.

⬢

If you have trouble with the wireless network, you can use the wired Ethernet connection. PrusaLink will then prefer the wired network over the Wi-Fi.

Step 11 Prusa Connect Log in

⬢Open up your web browser. We suggest using Chrome.

⬢Visit the Connect.Prusa3D.com site.

⬢Log in with your PrusaAccount

Step 12 Opening up PrusaLink Wizard

⬢Write down the IP Address from your printer's LCD into the address field of your web browser.

Use just the four numbers separated by dots.
In case you have set up a hostname earlier, you might be able to access the printer as http://yourhostname.local
(if the local network allows you to.)

⬢The PrusaLink Wizard site will open in your browser. Click Setup credentials|NEXT.

PrusaLink verifies your printer's serial number with Prusa servers.

If you have trouble configuring the PrusaLink because of an issue with your printer's serial number, please contact support.

Step 13 PrusaLink Wizard - Credentials

⬢Now you need to create a username and password to access the PrusaLink.

These credentials are printer-specific. Note, this is not your Prusa Account. We strongly suggest using unique credentials. In case you have multiple printers, you can use a password manager.

⬢This username and password will later be used to access PrusaLink directly, to get to the printer's own website, without having to be logged into Prusa Connect or even without the Internet connection.

⬢Hit Printer Info | NEXT

Step 14 PrusaLink Wizard - Printer Info

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Fill in the name of your printer.

⬢Name the location of your printer.

⬢Hit Recap and save | NEXT

Step 15 PrusaLink Wizard - Recap

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Check the entered information.

⬢If everything is correct, hit
Save printer and link with Connect | NEXT

You will be redirected to the PrusaConnect site

If you plan to use PrusaLink over the local network only - without the Prusa Connect cloud service or an internet connectivity, you can select Save printer|NEXT instead.

Step 16 Adding the printer into Prusa Connect

⬢Now you are looking at the Prusa Connect site.

⬢Confirm the details and hit ADD PRINTER

⬢From now on, there should be the IP address visible on the LCD of your printer on Idle - meaning PrusaLink is active and set up.

Step 17 Printing a file from PrusaLink

⬢From now on, to print a file over the local network using PrusaLink, simply open PrusaLink by typing the IP address into the web browser. Log in using the credentials you set in the Wizard.

⬢Log in using the credentials you have set in the Wizard.

⬢Select or drop in a G-Code file into the marked area.

⬢Navigate to Storage and open up file details for the just uploaded file.

Step 18 Printing a file from PrusaLink

⬢Hit Start Print

⬢Verify in person, that the printer is ready to print and Confirm that the printing sheet is empty and clean.

⬢From now on, you can observe the print progress in PrusaLink.

Step 19 Printing a file from Prusa Connect

⬢To print a file using Prusa Connect, open up connect.prusa3D.com, navigate to printer details page.

⬢Select or drop in a G-code file.

⬢In the Latest file uploads section, select Copy to printer and print. Verify the printer is ready to print. Confirm the steel sheet is clean and empty. The file will be copied over from Prusa Connect cloud onto the printer (PrusaLink).

⬢Once the file is copied over to the printer, it will start printing.