Zortrax Debuts its inCloud 3D Printing Management System

Zortrax inCloud is a cloud-based service that enables advanced, remote management of Zortrax 3D printers. It’s available to everyone who registered a Zortrax machine through the Zortrax ID system. With the inCloud, it is now possible to upload models and start the printing process on Zortrax devices from anywhere in the world using a web interface. And this is just a fraction of what Zortrax inCloud can do.

Remote Printing Capabilities

Operating Zortrax 3D printers remotely is the core functionality of Zortrax inCloud. This can take place through several options and features. The underlying idea was to let the users work with their printers just as though the machines were standing right beside them. It is possible to:

• Upload a model to a chosen 3D printer registered to your Zortrax ID account.
• Browse through the models available in the printer’s USB storage space.
• Start and pause the printing of the chosen model.

The “Multiprint” tool allows you to begin the printing on all your 3D printers at once. This solution is aimed primarily at businesses running large 3D printing farms as it can be used to launch mass 3D printing operation as fast as possible. Through the “Multiprint,” you can choose which of the available printers are to be used for mass printing and begin the process on all of them. All the chosen printers must work in the same technology and with the same filament.

Users can also remotely access cameras installed the M Series Plus machines to check if the previously printed models have been removed from build platforms, and the machines are ready to go.

Each time a model is transferred to the printer via the inCloud service, an appropriate amount of transfer is used up. How much transfer a user actually has depends on the chosen subscription plan. In a free subscription, it is possible to transfer 1GB worth of models. Paid plans come with 3GB of transfer for Standard Plan, 16GB for Professional Plan and 50GB for Enterprise Plan. Available transfer in each subscription plan renews monthly; however, purchasing additional GB of transfer is still possible during the ongoing work.

Managing 3D Printing Resources

Zortrax inCloud, besides being a remote printing management system, is also useful for resource optimization. To streamline the workflow, a professional or enterprise user can create an “Organization” on the Zortrax ID account. We wanted the “Organization” to serve as a digital registry of all the 3D printing resources available in a business. And we mean human resources as well.

So, managers or team leaders can add individual users to their “Organizations”. This is a straightforward process done through e-mail invitations. Once added, the users gathered in the “Organization” can be organized into “Teams”.

Each “Organization” can have multiple “Teams”, and users can be quickly transferred from one “Team” to another. Then, 3D printers available on the enterprise Zortrax inCloud account can be assigned to each of the “Teams”. Managers can always access a neatly arranged data on which machine is assigned to each “Team”, and how it’s used throughout the project. A space in Zortrax inCloud where the track records for each 3D printer are located is called “Timeline”.

The “Timeline” contains a log of activity for each 3D printer connected to the inCloud account. A user can see when the printer was working and when it wasn’t. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.