There is a limit to how much GCode the touchscreen can digest. I currently print a highly detailed moon lamp, and I started with layer height 0.08 mm. Resulting GCode file size: 287928 Kbytes. Load to the touchscrenn, start it, screen goes into “processing” - at around 85% it slows down to snail tempo (suppose swapping like hell), and at 91% FabScreen crashes, need to restart the printer. Sliced it again at 0.1 mm layer height, resulting file size 241331 Kbytes → Works.
Actually, anyone aware what the touchscreen actually does when it parses the file before start? My gut feeling is that it just tries to calculate the estimated printing time, and I guess with a bit more intelligent coding that should not touch the device limits…
Solution might be to use Luban to control the printer, but I hate to leave my computer on for days, eating additional electricity… I guess at some point I’ll need to install OctoPi…
Luban btw. according to @Edwin in this thread also is limited to something around 300 MB(!) - however, this information is old, might be that this no longer is true.
I just checked the largest gcode files I have printed and have one that is 5.4 MB. The part was not that big nor complex, so not sure why the file was this big. Another one was over 3MB and printed with no problems. The parts have been sliced with PrusaSlicer. I guess it is not only the file size that matters but also what is in it? In the beginning I had some models that crashed the UI, but I can’t remember which or which slicer they were created with.
I only used Luban for a very short period until it could not do what I wanted. I also had files that could not be processed or the print was weak with Luban. I then looked at other options and some comparisons between Cura and PrusaSlicer and decided to test PrusaSlicer. A couple of times with complex models and thin walls it has given some strange artefacts, but tweaking extrusion width and/or layer height for that particular section has usually solved it.
