Manual Rock64 Reflash

How to Reflash AutoFarm3D on a Rock64

If you've purchased your own Rock64s, or you're using a Print Farm Hub and you want a fresh start, follow these instructions to reflash AutoFarm3D on your Rock64.

Not for first-time users

If you've purchased a Print Farm Hub from the 3DQue online store, it comes with AutoFarm3D pre-installed!

If you're setting your Hub up for the first time, please follow this setup guide instead.

Video Tutorial

1. What you'll need

The Print Farm Hub available on our online store contains everything you need to get started.

Item	Minimum Specs
Rock64	2 GB RAM
MicroSD card	16GB, Class 10 Rating Maximum 64 GB
Rock64 5V power supply	3 Amps Rating
USB/SD to micro SD adapter	None
USB Wifi adapter OR Ethernet cable	None

2. Load Software Onto SD Card

Caution

Formatting your card erases all data on the SD card. Make sure you have backed up any important files before proceeding.

2.1 Format SD Card

1. Power off your Hub by unplugging the power supply.
2. Eject the SD card from the slot at the back of your Hub. The SD card is spring loaded, so gently press in on the card to release it, then pull it out. Do not force it out.
3. Insert the micro SD card into your computer.
4. Install and open SDCard.org SD card formatter (download here)
5. Format your card using the "Quick Format" option.

Why we recommend using the SDcard.org formatter

Your computer likely has a built-in SD card formatter, but they can be unreliable, especially if the SD card previously contained a Linux file system. The SDcard.org SD Card Formatter produces identical results on Mac and Windows computers, and works on any SD card, regardless of what file system it contains.

2.2. Choose Software

1. Download AutoFarm3D for Rock64 (download here)
2. Unzip the file. You should now have a file ending in .img.
3. Install and open Balena Etcher (download here).
4. Click ‘Flash from file' and select the AutoFarm3D .img file.

Can't unzip the file?

Mac computers sometimes have issues unzipping large files. For a fix, please follow this guide

2.3 Write to SD card

1. Click ‘Select target’ and select your SD card.
2. Select 'Flash' and wait until it's finished. Writing to the SD card may take up to 15 minutes.

3. Networking

Ethernet (Recommended)

If you're using an ethernet connection, all you need to do is plug in an ethernet cable connecting your Hub to your router or network switch. Ethernet is the most reliable way to connect your Hub to your network.

WiFi

important

If your network is a 'corporate' network (E.g. not a standard home wifi system, your workplace has an IT team, you're a school/university, you work in a shared workplace, etc.), please contact 3DQue support for setup assistance.

First, we need to tell your Print Farm Hub how to connect to your WiFi network.

Once Balena Etcher has finished writing, some windows may appear saying "You need to format the disk in drive X: before you can use it. Format now?". Select Cancel and close them all.

1. One of the new drives on your computer should be named "boot". Open this drive.

   

2. Open the file named "wifi.txt" using a text editor like Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac).

3. Fill in your WiFi name (SSID) and password.

   Make sure there are no spaces after the colon or at the end of your SSID/password.

   Example wifi.txt:

   Put your wifi information below, it is case sensitive. Type it directly after the colon:like this.

   network-name:Example Network Name password:Example-Password

4. Save wifi.txt, then safely eject the SD card from your computer.

4. Plug Everything in

Make sure the Hub is turned off and unplugged.

1. Insert the SD card into the Hub.

   • The SD slot is spring-loaded. Push in until the card clicks into place. Do not force it.

2. Connect a USB cable from your Hub to your 3D printer. (Skip for Bambu Lab printers)

3. Connect Ethernet/Wifi:

   • Ethernet: Plug in an Ethernet cable from your Hub to your router or network switch.
   • WiFi: Plug in a USB WiFi adapter.

4. Connect the power supply.

   Your Hub should power on and begin booting up.

   

5. Log in to AutoFarm3D

Note

On first powerup, please allow for up to 15 minutes for the Print Farm Hub to self-configure and adapt settings to your printer. It will be ready to use when you see an IP address appear on your printer's LCD screen. Please do not unplug the Hub during this process. Subsequent boot-ups will be much faster.

5.1 Finding Your IP Address​

When the Print Farm Hub successfully boots and connects to the internet, you will need to find its IP address.

To find your IP address, we recommend using Angry IP Scanner. To begin, please download and run the appropriate installer.

Download for Windows

Download for Mac - Intel

Download for Mac - M1/M2

Once installed, you should see this:

Simply click the “Start” button and wait until scanning is complete (approx. 60sec). Once it is complete, click close.

Look for "Raspberrypi.home" or "Rock64" in the Hostname column

Tip

You can search for the above by using ctrl+f on Windows or cmd+f on Mac, and can sort the column by clicking “Hostname” then “Sort by Hostname.”

Once you have found the IP address, you can proceed to 5.2!

‍If you are having issues finding the IP or unsure if your Print Farm Hub is functioning correctly, please see our Network Troubleshooting Page.

5.2 Log in From Your Browser

1. On your computer, open a browser and enter the IP address followed by “:8080”. You should now see the 3DQue login screen.
2. Sign in to your 3DQue account. If you don't have an account, please create one.

6.0 Next Steps

Check out our Tutorials to learn how to use AutoFarm3D!