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I have a Prusa i3 MK3S with the MMU on it. At my work, I'm creating a display case to advertise/show off the 3D printing we can do. I was thinking about putting the Prusa in the display case and having it "run" for the two weeks we're in there. I was thinking it'd be cool if I could have the printer pretend to print, i.e. move the axes around, move the bed every so often, etc., but without the need to worry about if a print was messing up (it'll be in a locked cabinet I may not notice more than once a day).

I'd just slice a long print but then the Prusa will wonder where the material is. Any thoughts on how to create that custom G-code?

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The simple way to do this is to slice a very long print (near maximum volume should run to 24 hours or longer, anyway), but set your slicer to nozzle temp of 0 °C and extrusion flow rate of zero. Back the filament out of the hot end (in case you want to change before resuming actual printing), but you can leave it in the extruder and Bowden tube so everything looks "normal". You can also optionally set the slicer to a lower print speed to draw out the movement, though this may give a distorted impression of how fast or slow the machine is.

Do test before you set up the exhibit, as it's easy to miss something when doing special settings like this...

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  • $\begingroup$ Exactly. You can also slow your print speed to draw out the performance. $\endgroup$
    – Davo
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 13:10
  • $\begingroup$ @Zeiss Ikon so funny story, if you put a cube in prusa slicer, make it the size of the print volume, set it to 0.05 ultradetail and 90% infill, Prusa Slicer will crash. Lol the error I got was "bla bla bla most likely ran out of RAM" which is funny given I have 32 gigs $\endgroup$
    – Joseph Crozier
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 14:06
  • $\begingroup$ @JosephCrozier Likely the slicer was compiled with a memory model that limits it to something like 4GB. Try Cura, or try it on a different OS (Linux or Mac or Windows, whatever you aren't running). Or cut down the infill (and remember to set your infill speed slower, too). $\endgroup$
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 15:01
  • $\begingroup$ @ZeissIkon Oh when I cut it down to 0.15 quality and 50% infill it was still like 3 days and some change, when I slowed it down after that it was fine. Just funny. Would have never pictured the 3d thing I'd make that would overwhelm my computer would be a cube $\endgroup$
    – Joseph Crozier
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 17:55
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    $\begingroup$ It's the infill -- especially if it's something other than lines or grid. Glad it works for you, though. $\endgroup$
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 18:15

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