Is it possible to provide wifi support to a 3d printer using Particle Photon

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I am just beginning to work with electronics but am very computer and gadget literate. I have been absorbing as much information about arduino and particle photon functions and how to’s as possible for the past few months. I have owned my particle photon for about a year yet have still not attempted to use it. I recently bought a Creality Cr-10 3D printer and also have a Robo3d C2 which, unlike the CR-10, has wifi support. Although i own many arduino parts in contemplation of creating several smart home devices, all information i have found about adding wifi connectivity to the CR-10 involves the use of the raspberry pi not arduino. I bought the particle photon based on it’s reputation as being very user friendly and easy to connect. Along with connecting my CR-10 to wifi I would also like to add video connectivity to both 3d printers and ideally this can be accomplished through the same setup. Does anyone know if any of these things can be accomplished through the use of a particle photon? If so, would this be an easier way to handle the connectivity than through the use of a raspberry pi? Any guidance that can be provided in these regards would be much appreciated? Thanks so much.

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I’d say it may be doable with some extensive hacking (e.g. due to the fact that the Photon does not natively support USB Host mode, which you’d need to the CR-10) but as I only own a CR-10 I’ve never really investigated this route since using a RaspberryPi is just that much easier.
And using the Photon to stream video is a no-go IMO.

I’m using a RPi Zero W and have even printed a new housing for the control unit (new board for dual extrusion and PSU) that also accomodates a compartment for the RPi with a USB Hub hat.

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Hi ScruffR,

Thanks so much for the help. Your setup looks and sounds great. Do you have the camera functions as well? Is it possible to aim and separately control a second camera for the other printer as well?

If you don’t mind sharing your set up i’d love to get the plans and stl files, assuming you printed the enclosure.

Have a great weekend!

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Yes and yes.

My control box is built around a specific ATX PSU which is switched on/off via the RPi and the printer is driven via a GT2560 board