We like Octoprint (and the similar Repetier Server). We do wish had opened the thing up for us. But it remains to be seen if either of those things will happen, much less both of them. On the other hand, if Creality fixes the problems and expands the 3D model library, we’d buy one. You still need an SD card and a power supply, so those extras are a wash. But it is hard to see how this would be a better value than Octoprint unless you were very short on cash and had no Raspberry Pi surplus laying around. We have to admit, an attractive network interface for $20 would be of interest. Worse, the slicer didn’t really produce stellar results. The 3D model library wasn’t very comprehensive, although that could change if the thing got very popular. The box was pretty picky about connecting to printers and there were many other problems. In addition, the box integrates with a Thingiverse-like library and does cloud slicing, which is attractive when you have a very small computer connected to your printer. A Raspberry Pi with a similar case would be at least twice that price. You can buy the Creality box for about $20. You might wonder why you’d want this system when Octoprint exists? Mainly, the value proposition is the price. noticed that Creality now has an inexpensive WiFi interface that promises to replace Octoprint and decided to give it a quick review.

A very common hack to a 3D printer is to connect a Raspberry Pi to your printer and then load Octoprint or a similar program and send your files to the printer via the network.

Raspberry zero octoprint