A modder has used a jailbroken Nintendo Switch to dramatically speed up an aging 3D printer. The project replaces the printer's stock controller with the Switch's quad-core Nvidia SoC running Klipper firmware.
Switch processor handles motion planning
The modified Prusa MK3S printed a standard 3DBenchy tugboat model in 8 minutes and 41 seconds. That is down from the original 90 minutes. The modder also reported quality improvements including less ringing and ghosting. The printer reached speeds of 400mm/s at 17,000mm/s² acceleration.
The Switch's processor handles motion planning tasks that were previously limited by the printer's 8-bit microcontroller. This offloading allows the printer to operate at higher speeds without losing precision.
The project was documented by Cocoanix 3D Printing. Nintendo has not commented on the use of its console for this purpose.
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