Regardless of which FDM/FFF printer you choose I suggest doing management of the printer via remote options instead of running around with microSD cards.

While getting your Raspberry PI up and running it is just easier, day to day, you can interact with your printer via phone/tablet or your computer, and with some work you could monitor your printer from outside of your home or office.

Raspberry PI#

You can monitor, send prints, and interact with your printer using a Raspberry PI and a camera.

• Raspberry PI
  • PI 4 2GB kit (Microcenter: kit)
    • has a case, power supply, and I would suggest replacing the microSD card as what it comes with can be cheap
  • PI 4 2GB (Microcenter: bare board)
  • PI Zero 2 W (Microcenter: bare board)
  • PI 4 2GB (Adafruit: bare board)

Running Marlin#

Marlin is the most installed base on printers for operation.

• If you are running Marlin (PI is optional in most cases):
  • Use a decent microSD card (see below)
  • Install OctoPi/Octoprint
  • This is not required as you can just drop your gcode onto the microSD card and sneaker net it around. I also suggest you use one that is not included with the printer as its quality is pretty awful
• Current 32-bit Buddy boards from Prusa have PrusaLink (ethernet and WiFi) and you can connect via their PrusaConnect service once you have the printer on your network. PrusaLink is very basic while PrusaConnect is a lot less basic. Neither provides real-time video of your printer. This includes the MK4, MK3.5, MK3.9, MINI+, and the XL.

Klipper#

Klipper

• If you are running Klipper then the Raspberry PI, or similar dedicated evice) is required so choose your path:
  • Use a decent microSD card (see below)
  • Install Debian Bookworm this is a complete image, you do not need the GUI interface
    • Use kiauh to install Klipper, Mainsail (and/or Fluidd), Moonraker, and base macros
  • Install MainsailOS
    • will have the basic set up, just create your printer.cfg and drop it in place

Note, for either Marlin or Klipper:

• PI 4 2G is more than enough as the 4G & 8G units are overkill for these use cases
• PI 3B+ is also doable but since same price as PI 4 2G I’d stick with that if purchasing new
• PI Zero W (original) is not recommended as its horsepower is quite weak but the PI Zero 2 W is more than capable
• Get a decent microSD card at least 64GB in size to store your Raspberry PI image (both) or gcode files (printer directly)
  • You do not need a lot of storage capacity
  • affiliate links
    • Samsung PRO Endurance 64GB - decent performance, hard to break, great for PI and overkill for your use in your printer with Marlin
    • SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB - very good performance for the PI and more than enough for installation in your printer with Marlin