Rasberry Pi 3A+ Powerful Enough

What is the problem?

Not sure if my Raspberry Pi 3A+ is powerful enough to run Octoprint, Some Plugins, Octolapse, OctoScreen and a Webcam.

What did you already try to solve it?

N/A

Have you tried running in safe mode?

N/A

Did running in safe mode solve the problem?

N/A

Systeminfo Bundle

octoprint-systeminfo-20230412073329.zip (40.8 KB)

Additional information about your setup

OctoPrint version 1.8.7, OctoPi version 1.0.0, printer Ender 3 v2 Neo, firmware 1.1.6, browser Chrome, operating system Win 11

Hi,
I'm not sure if my Raspberry Pi 3A+ has enough power to run Octoprint, Some Plugins, Octolapse, OctoScreen and a Webcam. I have had a weird issue already where my ender 3 v2 neo was endlessly trying to extrude and not moving the nozzle. And when i tried to pause the print through octoscreen, it didn't do anything. I then tried to login to the web interface for octoprint and it stated that the print was pausing. It never paused, so I had to press the emrgency stop button. I have only had this issue since I installed octoscreen today. I also get the warning about undervoltage. I am using the offical Raspberry Pi power supply that came bundled with my Pi 3A+.

It is hard on the edge with just OctoPrint.

With your additions it may not work satisfactory.

Undervoltage issues will make it throttle and run slower than it can, connecting a screen to the Pi can draw more power so might need a better power supply, or for the screen to be powered separately.

The issues with extruding and pausing don't sound particularly related to performance type issues however.

What amperage of 5v power supply would you recommend?

I would suggest at least 2.5 amps at 5.1v. A power supply for the 3B+ would work. See https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/blogs/2019/raspberry-pi-3-a-vs-b for the difference between the 3A+ and the 3B+.

I would also make sure the Ender 3 has the 5V pin in the USB cable blocked / disconnected, https://community.octoprint.org/t/put-tape-on-the-5v-pin-why-and-how/13574.

To reduce the power required even further, you could put the webcam on a powered USB hub.

1 Like

The Pi 3A+ actually has the same SoC as the 3B+, so it is just as powerful. The only difference is that the A+ has only a single USB port and no ethernet. It is actually slightly less power-demanding than the 3B+ because of the missing USB ports and ethernet controller, which may be a benefit for OctoPrint use.

2 Likes

With only one USB port, either the camera is connected via the CSI or there is already a USB hub being used.

Yes, I am using a usb hub. The power supply i am already using is 5.1v 2.5 amps.

Is it a powered hub?

No, it is not.

I would suggest that you switch to a powered USB hub. That should eliminate the undervoltage issues.

I have purchased a powered hub, and will report back how it goes when it turns up.

Guys I literally just made an account to ask about RPI 3A+. Just bought one, 512mb ram and I'm having trouble with the Ender3 v2. Can confirm that webcam works, however, to get over the low voltage errors I had to tape the last pin of the USB cable so that it wasn't drawing to the printer.

Anyways, my big issue right now is that it halts the nozzle randomly during prints. I worry that it's not powerful enough...

I have two potential things that could otherwise explain it 1. I'm using wifi.. but should be fast enough, I have an AP like 3 meters away, and 2. I'm using the PSU + PSU_TAPO plugins to power on and off the printer.

I will try plugging directly in to the socket tomorrow. But can anyone else confirm if this 3A+ is NOT SUITABLE? Someone else said you should have min of 2GB of ram..

Does it keep extruding?

Please read the rest of this thread including the links. The RPi 3A+ uses the same parts as the RPi 3B+, just less of them. It is a suitable host for OctoPi / OctoPrint. 512MB of memory is enough as the RPi Zero 2 W has the same memory capacity and it is on the recommended list.

Your problems with the Creality Ender 3 v2 are NOT specific to the RPi 3A+. This forum has many topics about problems (and solutions) with Creality printers. I would suggest you start your own Get Help topic, fill in the template with your details, and we will try to help.

I ran Octopi on a Pi 2B+ for years. You just need a decent power supply to use with it.

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.