Whether you had to change your network, you got a new computer, or you simply had to move your printer, sometimes your 3D printer won’t connect to GrabCAD Print.
Usually, when those things happen it’s pretty easy to open up GrabCAD and re-establish communication by simply clicking on the printer’s name at the top of the “Select a Printer” page. However, sometimes that doesn’t work and this post is here to help you re-connect with your printer.
Searching for the IP Address Of The Printer In GrabCAD Print
The first thing to try when reestablishing lost communication is to search for the IP address of the printer in GrabCAD. If you don’t already know it you must first determine your printer’s IP address. This is done on the printer through its network menu.
How to get to the network menu varies depending on your printer, if you need help navigating to the network menu reach out to your Stratasys service provider.
Once you know your printer’s IP address you can search for it at the top of the “Select a printer” page. Click on the magnifying glass and type in the printer’s IP address.
If searching for the IP does not work the first time it may help to change the printer to a static IP address.
You can change this setting in the printer’s network menu as well. After you change to a static IP address, try searching for it again in GrabCAD Print. This will confirm you have the correct IP address.
Checking The Printers Network Connectivity
If you were unable to connect to the printer by searching for the IP in GrabCAD it’s best to ensure that communication is working outside of GrabCAD before moving forward. To do this open up the command prompt program by clicking the start button and searching CMD.
Open the command terminal and type “ping”, followed by your printer’s IP address. For example, if your printer’s IP address is 192.168.225.162 you would type “ping 192.168.225.162” into the command terminal. If communication fails, ensure that you typed everything correctly. If this doesn’t work, ask your IT department for help.
Network discovery may be turned off and could be the reason for connectivity issues if your computer is new or had recent windows upgrades to your network. Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Advanced Sharing Settings to enable it.
Antivirus Issues
Sometimes Antivirus software might flag one of GrabCAD’s various background processes as malicious, causing problems with GrabCAD’s operation.
Generally speaking, you can prevent these issues by hitting “allow” whenever your software prompts you and by including GrabCAD print in the list of approved programs. Below is a list of .exe files that run as part of GrabCAD Print. All of these must be allowed to run for the program to work properly.
- GrabCADPrint.exe – The main application. This may be running several instances.
- PrinterServiceServerConsole.exe – This maintains the connection between GrabCAD Print and the printers on your network.
- FDMBuildServiceServerConsole.exe – This handles all operations for FDM printing, including slicing and generating the toolpaths. This may be running several instances.
- PolyJetService.exe – This handles all operations specific to PolyJet printing, including tray materials and slicing.
- gc_service_runner.exe – This program provides the functionality for Analysis Mode.
- gc_print_data_service.exe – This program gathers statistics about what generic actions are performed in GCP. It does not gather any information about your files. You can configure this service from File > “System Preferences.”
- VoxelFileCreateUtil.exe – If you have purchased a license for the Voxel Print Utility, this additional program is installed.
- gc_print_server.exe – If you are running GrabCAD Print Server, this will be running in the background, along with the Printer Service and Data Service.
Reinstalling GrabCAD Print
If you still are having trouble communicating with your printer there could be an issue with your instance of GrabCAD. The best way to fix that is to uninstall and reinstall the program.
The simplest way to do this is to go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > GrabCAD print and click on uninstall/change. Follow the prompts to uninstall the program. After you’ve successfully uninstalled the program, download the latest version of GrabCAD from GrabCAD.com, and install the program.
If You Still Have Connectivity Issues
If you still have connectivity issues after using all the above methods it’s often a result of remnants of old versions of the software getting in the way. It is best to get your system back to a “clean” state by removing all traces of GrabCAD Print.
- Start by going to Control Panel > Programs & Features and uninstalling all GrabCAD products.
- Download a fresh installer from print.grabcad.com and run it.
- If this fails, there is a tool from Windows that can help. Download it here: MicrosoftProgram_Install_and_Uninstall.meta.diagcab
- Open the Microsoft utility and select “problems uninstalling”
- Run the uninstalling troubleshooter:
- Once the troubleshooter has finished the analysis, remove GrabCAD Print from Front Panel:
- Once uninstalled, reboot the PC
- Open the Microsoft utility once again
- Check if Printer Service is still there after GrabCAD removal: if this is the case, remove it.
- Reinstall GrabCAD Print and report back if the issue has been solved or not.
5. Repeat the above steps for any of the following:
- DesktopMeshServiceInstaller
- FDMBuildService
- geometry-core
- GrabCAD Print API Runtime
- GrabCAD Print Data Service
- GrabCAD Print Server
- GrabCAD Print
- InsightCore
- InstallUtility
- PolyJet API Service UrlAcl
- PolyJet API Service
- PolyJetPlugin
- Printer Service
The tool can only do one at a time, so if you find one, hit Next, and proceed to remove it, then close and reopen the tool.
6. Once all these are removed, attempt to install GrabCAD Print again.
If even after all this you still have problems with GradCAD print the next steps would be to put a service ticket in directly with GrabCAD at print.grabcad.com or by sending an email to print@grabCAD.com
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