Build your own clearing: custom gcode or a robot arm

Custom gcode & robot arms: clear the bed your way

Write your own clearing gcode, or drive a robot arm that picks the finished part right off the plate. SimplyPrint runs whatever you build at the right moment - between the finished job and the next queued one - so any printer can clear itself and keep going.

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Your printer, your clearing motion, fully hands-off

No off-the-shelf clearing kit fits your setup? Build your own. Paste in custom clearing gcode, or wire up a robot arm, an ejector or a pneumatic scraper. SimplyPrint fires it in the AutoPrint loop, so the bed clears and the next job starts on its own.

What is the Custom gcode clearing method?

Custom gcode is the do-it-yourself clearing method for AutoPrint. Instead of a fixed mechanism, you supply the clearing motion and SimplyPrint runs it between the finished job and the next queued one. It comes in two flavours: write your own clearing gcode and paste it straight into SimplyPrint, or drive any custom hardware - a robot arm that lifts the finished part off the plate, a custom ejector, a pneumatic scraper. When a print ends, SimplyPrint runs your on-end gcode and then your clearing gcode, leaving the bed ready for the next print. It exists for the setups no packaged kit covers: if you can express the clearing as gcode, AutoPrint will run it.

How Custom gcode clearing works in SimplyPrint

Set up your clearing motion once and your printers keep clearing themselves.

Connect your printer & enable AutoPrint

Add the printer to SimplyPrint, turn on AutoPrint, and choose the Custom gcode clearing method.

Paste your clearing gcode

Drop in the gcode that does the clearing - the moves for your robot arm, ejector or scraper, or a sweep motion of your own.

Queue jobs, it runs hands-off

Fill the print queue. When a print ends, SimplyPrint runs your on-end gcode, then your clearing gcode, then starts the next job.

See it in action: robot arm and push-off

Two ways to build your own clearing - a robot arm lifting the part off the bed, or a custom push-off cycle.

A robot arm clears the bed

The hero example: a robot arm reaches in, picks the finished part off the plate and sets it aside. You write the arm's moves as clearing gcode, and SimplyPrint runs them between jobs so the printer never sits idle.

Or a custom push-off cycle

Prefer to push the part off yourself? Write a push-off sweep, an ejector trigger or a scraper pass as clearing gcode. If you can express the motion in gcode, AutoPrint will run it.

What you can build

If the clearing motion can be written as gcode, AutoPrint can run it. A few of the things people build:

A robot arm

An arm that reaches in and picks the finished part off the plate, then sets it down so the next job can start.

A custom ejector

A pusher, flipper or kicker you trigger from gcode to knock the finished part off the bed.

A pneumatic scraper

An air-driven scraper or blade that sweeps across the plate to release and clear the print.

Your own sweep motion

A toolhead or gantry sweep you write yourself, tuned to how your parts release from your build plate.

Works with any printer

Because Custom gcode means you supply the clearing motion, it isn't tied to one brand or model. If your printer is connected to SimplyPrint and runs AutoPrint, it can run your clearing gcode. The only requirement is hardware that can actually clear the bed - a robot arm, ejector, scraper or sweep motion you can express as gcode. That makes Custom gcode the catch-all for setups no packaged clearing kit covers.

Nothing to buy from us - it's built in

Custom gcode is a built-in clearing method. There's no add-on kit to purchase from SimplyPrint. Turn on AutoPrint for a printer, pick the Custom gcode method, paste in your clearing gcode and you're set. You bring the hardware - a robot arm, ejector or scraper - and SimplyPrint runs the motion at the right moment. If you'd rather drive your clearing hardware from software with no gcode, use the API & webhooks method instead, which lets your own service control each step of the loop.

Read the clearing-methods guide

Plan access: what plan do I need?

Custom gcode clearing runs through AutoPrint. AutoPrint is included on Pro as 1 license (up to 5 total). Print Farm, Enterprise and Education include unlimited AutoPrint licenses.

Feature / Limit Free Basic Pro Print Farm Enterprise School Cloud Slicer Filament Manager
AutoPrint licenses
One AutoPrint license per printer you want clearing itself with your custom gcode.
1 included
Up to 5 total · $3/mo per extra license

Want to learn more about our plans?

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Frequently asked questions

Any printer connected to SimplyPrint that runs AutoPrint. You supply the clearing motion as gcode, so there's no brand or model limit - the only requirement is hardware that can clear the bed, like a robot arm, ejector or scraper.
As many as your queue holds. After each print, SimplyPrint runs your on-end gcode, then your clearing gcode, then starts the next queued job - repeating until the queue is empty, as long as your clearing hardware keeps the bed clear.
Not from SimplyPrint - Custom gcode is a built-in clearing method. You do need your own clearing hardware, such as a robot arm, a custom ejector or a pneumatic scraper, and the gcode that drives it. SimplyPrint runs that gcode in the AutoPrint loop.
Manually, someone removes the finished part and starts the next job. With Custom gcode, your robot arm, ejector or scraper does the clearing and AutoPrint starts the next print, so the printer keeps running through the queue with no one standing by.
Yes. Custom gcode is just the clearing step inside the AutoPrint loop. Jobs still come from your print queue, smart matching still picks a fitting printer, and once a print ends your clearing gcode runs before the next queued job begins.

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