How to Do an Octolapse Timelapse – 3D Printing
Reading Time: 5 minutes A lot of users enjoy recording timelapse of their 3D printing experiences and Octolapse is the current best way to do it, but a lot of people aren’t sure how. That’s why I wrote this article, to teach how to create an Octolapse timelapse for 3D printing.
To create an Octolapse timelapse for 3D printing, you need a Raspberry Pi that runs OctoPrint, a webcam/camera and the Octolapse plugin installed. You’ll want to configure your Octolapse settings for the best results, then simply start your 3D print. The video will be ready in OctoPrint after finishing the model.
This is the basic answer, keep reading for more detail on creating an Octolapse timelapse for 3D printing.
How to Do an Octolapse Timelapse
To create an Octolapse Timelapse for 3D printing, you’1ll need to follow these steps:
- Gather the required material
- Install OctoPrint on your Raspberry Pi
- Install the Octolapse plugin
- Configure the Octolapse settings and connect your webcam.
- Start a print and watch the timelapse video
Gather the Required Material
The first step you need to do in order to properly create an Octolapse timelapse for 3D printing is to gather all the required material.
To create an Octolapse timelapse, you will need the following:
- A Raspberry Pi
- A webcam
The Raspberry Pi is a low-cost, single-board computer that is capable of running different applications through Linux. You can the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 2019 Quad Core 64 available at Amazon for a great price and with great reviews.
- Broadcom BCM2711, quad-core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1. 5GHz---4GB LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
One user stated that he bought the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B to use with his 3D printer and OctoPrint.
He highly recommends it as it works great, and the setup is really easy. He also states it performs really well and only uses a fraction of the available computing power of the Raspberry Pi 4.
For the camera, you can use any webcam that is compatible with your Raspberry Pi. Users recommend getting the Logitech C920, which is available at Amazon for a great price.
- Full HD 1080p video calling (upto 1920 x 1080 pixels) with the latest version of Skype for Windows; Webcam with 5 foot cable
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
One user stated that anything that works for OctoPrint will work for Octolapse and the best thing is to get a middle-of-the-road webcam such as the Logitech 920.
Another user stated that the best thing is to get a USB webcam such as the Logitech C920 as it works a lot better than the Pi cams, which are cameras made for the Raspberry Pi.
Install OctoPrint on your Raspberry Pi
The next step you’ll need to do in order to create an Octolapse timelapse for 3D printing is to install OctoPrint on your Raspberry Pi.
OctoPrint is an open-source software that allows you to control and monitor 3D printers.
You can follow the instructions on the OctoPrint website to properly download and install OctoPrint on your Raspberry Pi.
I wrote an article called How to Set Up OctoPrint on Your 3D Printer that may be useful to you.
Check out the video below for details about how to install OctoPrint on your Raspberry Pi.
Install the Octolapse Plugin
Once you have OctoPrint installed, you can install the Octolapse plugin by going to the Plugin Manager and searching for “Octolapse”. To install it, just click the “Install” button.
Octolapse is a plugin for OctoPrint, which is a 3D printer application that runs on a Raspberry Pi.
The plugin enhances the time-lapse capabilities of OctoPrint, allowing you to create more dynamic and visually appealing time-lapse videos of your 3D prints.
A lot of users recommend doing a timelapse with the Octolapse plugin as you can easily do it by running OctoPrint and using a webcam.
One user stated that the Octolapse timelapse just looks superior to a normal timelapse.
Take a look at this awesome timelapse done with Octolapse.
Check out the video below for detailed instructions on how to install the Octolapse plugin.
Configure the Octolapse Settings and Connect your Webcam
The next step is to configure the Octolapse settings and connect your webcam. Click the Add Profile button and select the webcam that you want to use and configure the Octolapse settings.
The settings on Octolapse should match the settings you have on your slicer for the print you want to be recording. You can copy and paste them from Cura or your preferred slicer into the Octolapse profile you’ll be creating.
One user stated that good lighting is overlooked but can really improve your image quality.
Another user said that depending on the webcam you are using to record the timelapse, you may want to manually adjust the focus length to improve the quality of the footage.
Check out the video below for more information on how to properly connect your webcam to your Raspberry Pi.
Start a Print and Watch the Timelapse Video
The last steps to create the Octolapse timelapse are starting the print and then watching the timelapse video after it is completed.
Once you have configured the Octolapse settings and your webcam, you can start a print. When the print starts, Octolapse will start taking photos at the interval that you specified.
After the print is finished, you can watch the timelapse video in OctoPrint.
One user stated that using a webcam, the Raspberry Pi, and Octolapse is the easiest and most convenient way to record high-quality timelapse of your 3D prints.
Check out this amazing timelapse below which was made using Octolapse.
