USB-based Networking in a 3D Printing Shop

Theodore Halberd — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 12:05:26 +0000

Since my workshop has several 3D printers with a USB interface, I’ve always been tempted to make them remote. I ended up accomplishing this with USB Network Gate, a USB over network solution. Before trying USB-over-IP solutions, all the interface did was change where the SD cards with G-code needed to be stuck. Of course, I (and the rest of the crew) would much rather just send the files over LAN.

The final setup was as follows: a single computer acted as the host, with all the printers attached, and had a host app installed on it. The rest of the computers in the workshop had client apps on them that could request access to a printer. Of course, this also made the requested device inaccessible to everyone else, but with just 6 people in the workplace, we learned to share.

I tried both USB Network Gate by Electronic Team, Inc., and a FabulaTech solution called “USB over Network”. Price was definitely the deciding factor, USB Network Gate allows multiple devices to be shared at about the same price as a single-device “USB over Network” license. And these apps are costly - while I’m willing to pay a lot for quality software, overpaying by hundreds of dollars is just bad business sense.

Does anyone else have a story about their CNC businesses? I know that my method definitely isn’t the only one.

DEV Community: Theodore Halberd

USB-based Networking in a 3D Printing Shop