Mintion Beagle V2: Swiss army knife of 3D printer monitoring

Even though I’m a MacGyver-type guy, I learned the importance of selecting the right tools for the job. Improvising will not always give you the expected result. The Mintion Beagle V2 is the Swiss Army knife for 3D printing monitoring. It provides real-time video feed and remote control on your phone or PC wherever you are in the world. Furthermore, it can take impressive time-lapse videos and send instant alerts if 3D printing stops unexpectedly.

Printing big 3D models takes several days, during which many things can go wrong. The most common failures are due to poor adhesion to the build plate, layer separation, nozzle clogs or jams, power loss, mechanical issues, filament properties, mechanical issues, and print geometry. To avoid these problems, it’s essential to properly set up and calibrate your 3D printer, use a high-quality filament, select appropriate print settings, and monitor the printing process closely.

Using the Beagleprint mobile APP, you can monitor not just one but all your printers from a single and friendly dashboard. Compatible FDM printers can even be controlled; you can upload STL files and start printing remotely from your vacation.

Creating a time-lapse of your FDM 3D printer in action can be a fun way to showcase the printing process. Your videos become even more epic if you manage to record the video without showing the printhead in the frame and just showing how the model is built layer-by-layer. The Mintion Beagle V2 camera is plug-and-play and allows you to do this without any hardware or software modification of your 3D machine. Moreover, with the external UV sensor, you can make time-lapse videos also with LCD\DLP resin 3D printers. Octoprint offers similar capabilities, but the setting up process is way more complicated.

Review: Mintion Beagle V2 3D printer monitoring camera

Disclosure: I received this camera as part of a product review collaboration with Mintion. Specs and quality may vary according to the manufacturer’s reliability, so I cannot guarantee that you will get a product that performs exactly the same as seen in my article.

Initially, Minition contacted me to review their upcoming Lasercam for laser Engraver/Cutter machines. As I had never heard about the company before, I checked their website and found out that they have similar products for 3D printer monitoring, and finally, I opted for the Beagle V2. Besides the newer chipset (V200 versus V300), more memory (512MB versus 1GB), and wired network connectivity (external adapter required), the second-generation Beagle camera comes with a completely new design and a manual focus ring, which makes the footage much sharper.

After I received the package, Mintion sent me a couple of links with video tutorials about how to start using this camera. I find this very friendly, hope they treat their customers the same.

Miniton Beagle V2: At a glance

The Beagle V2 camera comes well-packed with included mini tripod, USB AC/DC adapter (5V/1A), USB Type-C power cable, micro USB, and USB 2.0 A-B 3D printer cables.

When I removed the camera from the box, I was surprised at how small it was. Incorporating so many features, I expected something bigger than a regular webcam. The Miniton Beagle V2 measures just 73x80x25mm and weighs 60 grams. Despite that it’s being entirely made from plastic, it feels solid and well-made.

On the front panel, the IR sensor and microphone are found in addition to the lens that can be manually rotated 360 degrees. On the back are two status LEDs (Power and WIFI), a female USB A socket for 3D printer connectivity, and a speaker. Type-C power port and micro SD slot are on the left; respectively Data-OUT port and reset button are on the right. A standard tripod mount hole is at the bottom of the camera.

The included mini tripod is 10-15cm tall and is also made of plastic, except for the metal ball head. Personally, I would have preferred a gorilla-type mini tripod with flexible arms allowing you to attach the Beagle V2 camera to the 3D printer’s frame, almost in any position and whenever needed to have the best angle on the model. Anyway, I will need to fulfill my wish because I broke the stock tripod on the first use.

The product page says that the camera should have an RJ45 network port, but I found none, so I contacted Minition to check if it’s a typo or not. They answered promptly and explained that this feature requires an external Type-C to RJ45 adapter, which is still under development.

Mintion Beagle V2: Initial setup and other details

Mintion’s Beagle V2 camera is a true plug-and-play 3D printer monitoring solution that requires only 15 minutes to be up and running. No tweaking, software, or hardware modification is required that could end in losing your 3D machine’s warranty.

After downloading and installing the Beagleprint APP, following the video below, you can associate the Beagle V2 camera with your account and WiFi Network. During the setup process, you will be guided by voice confirmation from the camera. The associated IP address to access via your computer’s web browser (default credentials are admin\admin) can be found in the mobile APP. Remember that by default, the camera is in DHCP mode (dynamic address allocation), and the IP may change according to the lease time of your home network.

The next step is to wire the Mintion Beagle V2 with your 3D Printer. My Neptune 3 Pro was on the compatibility list, and I managed to access it by the camera in no time. Both mobile and web interface gives you complete control of the machine, just like you are using its psychical control panel. You can pause, resume, and stop the printing process. You can monitor the nozzle and bed temperature curves. You can print without a computer by sending the gcode file from the camera’s memory to the printer. Maybe it’s just my perception, but the printing seemed faster than running from the memory card inserted in the N3Pro.

The captured time-lapse videos are stored in the “tlv” folder and have 1920×1080@15fps video resolution (manually can be set up to 25fps) using the H264 codec. The “log” folder contains files revealing details about the camera’s hardware. It adopts an ARMv7 rev 5 processor that runs on Linux version 4.9.37 -a similar CPU is used in the Raspberry Pi2 board. The video module is a Goke GK7205V300 DEMO board, often used in security IP cameras.

To be honest, I was impressed with what this tiny device can offer for its money. After the first tests, I shared a few screen captures of the web interface on a popular 3D printing Facebook group. I was surprised at how few people knew about this monitoring and remote control solution. Most members asked with enthusiasm, “What is this cool tool“?

Pricing and availability

The Beagle V2 USB 3D printer camera can be ordered from the manufacturer’s website for $89.99 (with 5% off) and from online platforms such as Amazon and eBay. The company also has a few compatible accessories, such as tripods, LED rings, and the previously mentioned UV sensor that, for an extra $24.99, will also allow you to take time-lapse videos for resin LCD 3D printers.

What could they have made better?

First of all, they should include a better tripod with the camera because it is made from some fragile plastic and does not allow high adjustment. Secondly, the manual focus adjustment is nice, but the motorized focus adjustment is a much better alternative to auto-focus systems. The focus must be re-adjusted every time the distance between the camera and printer changes. For razor-sharp videos, focus point will also need to be adjusted according to the print model’s shape. The focus point is changed even when you switch from normal to clean time-lapse mode. An electronic focuser would allow you to set the focus remotely in front of your computer monitor.

The time-lapse feature is nice to have, but it requires dedicated lighting and advanced manual image adjustment, such as exposure control and shutter speed setting, for usable results. If you want to go further with the quality, making 4K time-lapse videos using your DSLR or Mirrorless camera, a trigger/shutter-out port would be welcomed. 

While through the web interface, the live video was almost real-time and had no freezing, on the smartphone, latency was significant, and the video stopped many times. My Samsung S22 is a relatively new and powerful phone; also, I tried 4G internet and High-Speed WiFi 6 connectivity, and both gave the same glitchy live stream.

Till now, I used a self-powered IP camera to monitor my 3D printers, I liked that the camera could be installed anywhere in the house without needing an AC outlet. 

Only one user with complete control over the camera and printer can be configured. It would be nice to also have a guest (read-only) user that would monitor only the video feed; this could be provided to your friend or client to see the progress of their order.

Mintion Beagle V2: Key features

• [Plug & Play] Incredibly easy to use. Connect the camera and the 3D printer to power, download the Beagleprint app, and register. Scan the code to connect to WiFi. Ready to rumble!
• [Crystal clear image with manual focus adjustment] By manually rotating the camera’s lens, you can adjust the focus point to obtain the best results.
• [Remotely Monitor and Control Printing Status] You can monitor the current printing status in real time anywhere worldwide. Compatible 3D printers can even be controlled remotely with the camera. This requires you to upload the print file to the camera via the Beagleprint mobile APP and remotely pause or cancel the print process as you wish or need. If there is an unexpected pause or interruption of the printing process, the camera will notify you via the app – in real time. When the print is finished, the app will also inform you. Besides the mobile APP, you can also use the Beagle V2 camera in the browser from your desktop computer or laptop.
• [Multiple 3D Printers Management] From the same mobile, you can monitor multiple cameras, respectively 3D printers
• [Broad compatibility with 3D printers] The Beagle V2 camera is compatible with a wide range of 3D printers from the industry’s biggest brands.
• [Create Time-lapse Video with Fun] It features four different time-lapse modes for automatic video creation:
  • Clean time-lapse video: When a layer is finished, the printhead automatically moves out of the frame. In the time-lapse video, the printed model grows as if by itself. This mode significantly increases printing time!
  • Normal time-lapse video: The camera takes the picture only when a layer is finished. The printhead will be visible in the time-lapse video, but speed will not be affected.
  • UV Time Lapse for resin 3D printers: For this mode, you will need the Miniton UV sensor in order to be able to create the time-lapse videos. With the UV sensor, the camera takes the picture triggered by the resin printer’s UV light.
  • Time-lapse video with timer: Record a time-lapse video without being connected to the printer. You can set the timing for the recording individually.

Mintion Beagle V2: Technical parameters

Beagle V2 camera (v1.2.2+  firmware): 3D Printers compatibility list

I was surprised to read that the Mintion Beagle V2 is not just compatible with my existing 3D printer but it is also compatible with all my previous machines. Check the full and updated compatibility list here.