New to Dusty and wondering what the FieldPrinter actually is? This article explains what the FieldPrinter does, the parts that make up the system, and how a digital layout becomes printed lines on your floor.
The Short Answer
The FieldPrinter is Dusty's autonomous layout printing robot. It drives across the slab and prints your building layout — walls, penetrations, points, text, and more — directly onto the floor at full 1:1 scale, straight from your coordinated digital model. One operator runs it. It replaces manual chalk-line and tape-measure layout with a print job.
The current model is the FieldPrinter 2 (FP2). Throughout Dusty's documentation, "the FieldPrinter" refers to this robot.
What the FieldPrinter Prints
The FieldPrinter reproduces your layout on the floor from the coordinated model. It can print:
- Lines and arcs — wall layout, grid lines, and other linework
- Points — control points, hangers, anchor and penetration locations
- Text — callouts, labels, and dimensions
- QR codes and SVG images — coded or graphic content prepared in your file
It prints at 1/16" (1.6 mm) accuracy, so the precision of your VDC coordination carries all the way through to the field.
The System: Four Parts Working Together
The FieldPrinter isn't just the robot — it's a small system Dusty calls the FieldPrint Platform. It breaks down into four groups.
| Part | What it is | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| The robot (FP2) | The autonomous layout printer | Drives the slab and prints your layout on the floor |
| The tracking system | A Leica laser tracker + a radio | Tracks the robot's exact position in real time so every line lands in the right place |
| Power | A Milwaukee M18 battery | Powers the robot; swap in a charged battery to keep going |
| The software | The Dusty App (iPad Pro) + the Dusty Portal (web) | Prepares and publishes files, then controls the robot in the field |
The robot (FieldPrinter 2)
FP2 is a compact, single-person-carry robot. It carries a left and right print head (each 1" wide), replaceable ink cartridges, a reflector that the laser tracker locks onto, and wind guards that shield the ink so it lands where it's aimed. Built-in obstacle detection stops the robot for objects in its path, and cliff detection guards against slab edges and floor openings.
The tracking system
A laser tracker on a tripod follows a reflector on the robot and continuously measures where the robot is. This is what lets the FieldPrinter print at 1/16" accuracy across a large floor. The tracker talks to the robot through a radio. Dusty supports three Leica trackers (AT500, AT930, and AT930-NRT); your operator uses whichever came with your kit.
Power
The robot runs on a Milwaukee M18 battery. When one runs low, the operator swaps in a charged pack and keeps printing.
The software
There are two pieces of software, and they work together:
- The Dusty Portal is the web-based hub where your VDC and project teams upload, organize, and publish layout files, and manage who has access. Publishing a file in the Portal is what makes it available to the field.
- The Dusty App runs on an iPad Pro in the field. The operator uses it to connect to the robot, station against control points, choose what to print, and run tools like Floor Elevation.
How It Works, Start to Finish
At a high level, a layout goes from model to floor like this:
- Prepare the file. Your VDC team prepares the layout in AutoCAD, then publishes it to the Dusty Portal (Revit → AutoCAD → Dusty Portal).
- Load it in the field. The operator opens the approved file in the Dusty App on the iPad.
- Set up the tracker and station. The operator sets up the laser tracker and stations — ties the digital layout to the real building using control points, so every line prints in the right place.
- Print. The operator selects what to print and the FieldPrinter drives the slab and lays it down, staying on position via the tracker.
For a fuller walkthrough of the end-to-end process, see Getting Started with Dusty: An End-to-End Workflow.
What It Can Print On
The FieldPrinter is built to print on surfaces that are flat, rigid, and stable. Field-proven surfaces include concrete (the most common), wood (including plywood and OSB subfloor), steel (including precast casting beds), plastics/polymers/glass, and TPO roofing membrane. The robot uses water-based or solvent-based ink depending on the surface, temperature, and how permanent the marks need to be, and it detects the ink type automatically.
For the full list, ink guidance, and surface limitations, see What Surfaces and Floor Types Can the FieldPrinter Print On? (Plus Limitations).
Key Specifications
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| Product type | Autonomous mobile layout robot |
| Function | Prints lines, arcs, text, points, QR codes, and SVG images from the coordinated model at full scale |
| Print accuracy | 1/16" (1.6 mm) |
| Print resolution | 308 DPI |
| Dimensions (L × W × H) | 13.1" × 10" × 8.3" (333 × 254 × 211 mm) |
| Weight (with battery) | 23 lb (10.4 kg) — single-person carry |
| Print heads | 2 × 1" (25.4 mm) |
| Ingress protection | IP51 — protected against dust; not waterproof, not rain-safe |
| Operation | Single operator via the Dusty App |
| Availability | North America |
Print speeds
| Mode | Speed |
|---|---|
| Printing a solid line | 2.5 ft/s (0.75 m/s) |
| Printing text and points | 1.6 ft/s (0.50 m/s) |
| Driving between print areas | 3.3 ft/s (1.0 m/s) |
Print speed is not the same as how much you finish in a day — real-world output depends on layout density, obstacles, and the number of stationing setups. For what drives daily production and how far an ink cartridge goes, see FieldPrinter 2 Print Speed, Production Rate, and Ink Cartridge Coverage.
More Than Layout: Floor Elevation
Beyond printing, the FieldPrinter 2 can also collect slab elevation data as it moves. That data syncs to the Dusty Portal, where your team can view heatmaps and download reports.
Who Uses It
The FieldPrinter serves the whole layout workflow: VDC and BIM coordinators and project managers prepare and publish files in the Portal, and field operators and superintendents run the robot on the slab. Because one person can operate it, the FieldPrinter removes the need for a separate survey or layout crew on the floor.
Related Articles
- Getting Started with Dusty: An End-to-End Workflow
- FieldPrinter 2 Anatomy
- What Is the Dusty Portal?
- The Dusty iPad App: Feature and Tool Overview
- What Surfaces and Floor Types Can the FieldPrinter Print On? (Plus Limitations)
- FieldPrinter 2 Print Speed, Production Rate, and Ink Cartridge Coverage
- What Is Flexible Control? Stationing Tools for Imperfect Jobsites