For a long time, one of the most frequent requests from our users has been the option to increase storage capacity in Prusa Connect. We are now offering plans to expand the storage capacity from the free 1GB to 20GB, 100GB, or bigger if needed.

We have also successfully concluded the public beta testing of remote camera streaming and it’s now available for everyone! And we’ve added several more useful features to EasyPrint, PrusaConnect, and the Prusa mobile app.

Remote 1080p/24fps Camera Streaming for Everyone (with a caveat)

Remote camera streaming over the internet is now available to everyone. To achieve this without charging everyone for bandwidth, we utilize an open-source framework called WebRTC. This is a bit of a complex and confusing topic, so we’ll do our best to explain it.

WebRTC is smart and it automatically tries to find the most efficient path for the video stream:

  • Local Connection
  • Direct connection over the internet (The STUN protocol)
  • Relay connection via our servers over the internet (The TURN protocol)

Local connection

If your phone/PC and your 3D printer are on the same Wi-Fi or LAN, WebRTC connects them directly. This is the highest-quality connection.

The STUN protocol

Cameras in your network have private IPs (e.g., 192.168.x.x) and they are not reachable directly from the internet. The STUN protocol assists by “punching a hole” in the NAT (Network Address Translation), allowing traffic to flow directly between the camera and the user, bypassing the need for a relay server in the middle.

Remote STUN streaming is enabled for everyone at the highest possible quality (up to 1080p at 24fps), with low latency, for free.

STUN works well in the majority of real-world cases. However, in some networks, this protocol may be unable to make the connection. This can typically happen in strict corporate firewalls, but it’s also the case for many mobile operators.

The TURN protocol (the backup)

That’s where our TURN servers kick in as a backup. When STUN is not available, the camera sends the video data to our servers, which then “turn” it around and relay it to your device. Because this relaying consumes significant server resources and bandwidth, we have to apply limits to this specific backup method. By default, everyone gets SD resolution at 12 fps for free. If you want a guaranteed HD or FHD resolution even with this backup solution, we provide a way to purchase it, together with more storage in Prusa Connect and several other cloud related features. Don’t forget to update your Prusa app and the firmware in your camera, we regularly add new features!

The Expandable Storage in PrusaConnect

Our goal is to offer a sustainable path to continue developing connected ecosystem and services for those who get the most out of them. At the same time, we are still developing all of our printers and services as offline-first. You don’t ever have to connect your printer to the internet, not even once, even when you want to e.g. update the firmware.

If the current setup is sufficient for you, you don’t need to change anything at all.

With that said, many of you have been asking us for classic subscription based options to get more storage in PrusaConnect. Compounding on top of that, EasyPrint can now sync your projects between devices. You can start slicing on your phone and seamlessly continue on your big screen. This uses your shared storage in Prusa Connect, so we’ve seen more users reporting full storage with no option to get more.

So we’ve decided to introduce a 20GB/100GB plans, paired with other related benefits. We did our best to lead by example and make a subscription that is as reasonable as possible.

The most important thing is that everything that was free stays free. We’re not gatekeeping previously available features just to force more people into a subscription.

And as a bonus the mentioned remote camera streaming over the internet is now available to everyone for free as well.

Parallel Slicing in EasyPrint, Access to All Academy Courses, and Farm Mode beta

We considered what other features are computationally expensive on our side, but could be included with the paid plans.

One of them is parallel slicing for larger projects with many print beds. If you’re preparing a bigger job, you can now process multiple beds at once, which makes the workflow a bit faster and more convenient. You can still process all the beds with one click in the free tier, they will just process one by one, spreading the load on our servers more evenly.

We’ve also enabled support for extra computationally demanding projects. With the paid plans, we can afford to dedicate more compute power to these edge cases and let the slicing run longer when needed.

Custom Enterprise Plans

We know that some companies and larger teams have very different needs than individual users, so if you need much larger storage, more demanding cloud features, or something more tailored to your workflow, just reach out to us and we’ll prepare a custom offer.

Prusa Connect Farm BETA

We’ve been running a limited beta test of our new application for professional high-volume production. The Prusa Connect Farm includes features such as:

  • Automated Job Distribution: Let the system handle the queue and assign jobs across your farm efficiently.
  • Gantt-Based Scheduling: Visualize your production timeline and optimize printer uptime.
  • Quality control workflows.
  • Bulk Operations: Managing files across multiple printers simultaneously.
  • Advanced Control: Includes Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), a centralized Action Center for scheduled tasks, and a comprehensive Dashboard overview.

We’re also working on a warehouse for material management and API for custom integrations. Some features, including multi-material or SLA printing, are not yet supported.

Access to the Farm mode beta is now available with all paid plans. We are gradually onboarding more users, as we scale the infrastructure and optimize the performance. Once the beta concludes, the Farm mode will be available for everyone to try even in the free plan.

Access to All Prusa Academy Online Courses

We wanted to include something extra that brings value beyond storage and cloud features. That’s why all yearly plans now include access to all Prusa Academy online courses as an added benefit. For example, a single course like our Fusion course normally costs $28, so getting access to the full library is a pretty nice extra. You can try the PrusaSlicer Masterclass, learn to paint miniatures, or how to post-process prints. All future courses will be included as well.

Wrapping Up

This update is all about making the connected Prusa ecosystem more useful without taking anything away from users who prefer to keep things simple and free forever. Whether you print fully offline, manage a small remote setup, or run a larger production workflow, this gives you more flexibility in how you use your 3D printers. Give the new features a try and let us know what you think!