MTConnect MakerBot Adapter

An independent MTConnect SHDR adapter for MakerBot printers that expose the MakerBot JSON-RPC service. MakerBot Print is not required. The adapter connects directly over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, authenticates with a saved printer authorization, and publishes printer state through the MTConnect Adapter SDK.

Projects

• MakerBot.Rpc (netstandard2.0) contains discovery, pairing, authentication, JSON-RPC transport, DTOs, and MakerBot commands.
• Mtconnect.MakerBotAdapter (netcoreapp3.1) maps MakerBot state to Adapter SDK source data.
• MakerBot.Configurator (net10.0) discovers and pairs a printer, then writes adapterconfig.json.
• Terminal (net10.0) hosts one configured source with Mtconnect.ShdrAdapter.
• MakerBot.Tests contains protocol and configuration tests.

The private NuGet_TAMS feed is configured by the repository's NuGet.Config. Mtconnect.* packages are mapped to that feed.

Pair a printer

Close MakerBot Print before testing independent operation. The computer and printer must be on networks that permit direct traffic to the printer.

Discover printers and select one interactively:

dotnet run --project MakerBot.Configurator

Or pair a known address directly:

dotnet run --project MakerBot.Configurator -- --address 10.0.0.61 --port 9999 --output adapterconfig.json

When prompted, press the printer's control-panel dial. The configurator waits up to 120 seconds, validates the resulting authorization with get_system_information, and atomically writes the configuration file.

adapterconfig.json contains a plaintext printer authorization code. It is ignored by Git; protect it like a credential. A safe template is available at Mtconnect.MakerBotAdapter/adapterconfig.example.json.

Run the SHDR adapter

Pass an absolute or current-working-directory-relative configuration path:

dotnet run --project Terminal -- --config adapterconfig.json

If no path is supplied, Terminal uses adapterconfig.json in the current directory when present, or prompts for a path. The default SHDR listener is TCP port 7878.

Unattended startup never initiates pairing. If authorization is missing or invalid, run the configurator again. The adapter first tries the configured endpoint, verifies the printer serial during the JSON-RPC handshake, and then attempts rediscovery by serial through mDNS (_makerbot-jsonrpc._tcp) and legacy UDP. A disconnect publishes UNAVAILABLE; successful authenticated reconnection restores AVAILABLE.

Configuration

One configuration file represents one printer and one adapter source:

{
  "machine": {
    "name": "MakerBot+",
    "serialNumber": "23C1000B3C7059020FBB",
    "address": "10.0.0.61",
    "rpcPort": 9999,
    "sslPort": 12309,
    "authenticationCode": "",
    "clientId": "MakerWare",
    "clientSecret": "MakerBotAgentAdapterCore"
  },
  "pollIntervalMilliseconds": 5000,
  "reconnectIntervalMilliseconds": 10000
}

machine.serialNumber, machine.address, and machine.authenticationCode are required for unattended adapter startup. The serial number is used as the stable device identity and prevents a changed address from connecting to the wrong printer.

Build and test

dotnet restore Mtconnect.MakerBotAdapter.sln
dotnet build Mtconnect.MakerBotAdapter.sln --no-restore
dotnet test MakerBot.Tests/MakerBot.Tests.csproj --no-build

Thanks to gryphius/makerbot-gen5-api, which helped document the MakerBot JSON-RPC workflow.