filament odometer

[Daniel Rosen]

Hi, does anyone know or has a way to measure the amount of filament is being used?

When I am about to start a large print I usually find myself in the dilemma whether I have enough filament to finish the print. Thought about buying a small scale to measure the spools but it is not very practical I think. I saw a few mechanical and digital options on TV but no sure what might work.

How do you all do it? 

thanks!

Dan

[Neil MacGregor]

If you're an OctoPrint user, there's a plugin named "SpoolManager", which appears to track individual spools as you use them, and will warn you if there isn't sufficient filament left on your spool to complete the print. I haven't tried this, but I really want to.

The plugin splash page: https://plugins.octoprint.org/plugins/SpoolManager/

The repo on Github:https://github.com/OllisGit/OctoPrint-SpoolManager

[Kurt at VR-FX]

Dan - when I was working at SD3D in SD -  really only used S3D. And, the good part of S3D - it actually tells you how many grams of plastic it will use! So, I would obsessively use the scale we had to measure the spools. And, we even had listings of the weight of the spool - per brand. Then subtract that weight - and, as we got towards ends of spools - I write the weight down on the spools Then, when I had smaller print jobs - I'd find a spool that had just enough to print that job. So, yeah, that was the cool thing about S3D. On my personal 3DP - I use Cura - but, it doesn't list grams req'd. I did use PrusaSlicer recently - this past fall, at the Northrop-Grumman FabLab for an aircraft project - but, I don't remember if it tells you grams required. I think it does. So - that option may be a bit Slicer specific.

-K-

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[Alan Biocca]

I make custom scales for the filament spools calibrated to the spool type for measuring filament. Sometimes I also measure weight which is especially accurate with refillable spools. Prusa Slicer does give the filament weight for the print.

Also I calculate the weight per inner layer on the spool type, when you get down to a layer or two you can easily estimate the remaining weight from observing the layers and fractions thereof.

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[Neil MacGregor]

PrusaSlicer provides an estimate for the filament used, in length, volume, and weight, each time you slice a model.  Here's a screenshot:

I have a Prusa i3 & these printers have filament-runout sensors, so when I run out of filament in the middle of a print, the printer pauses, ejects the little nubbin that's left, beeps, primes the nozzle after the human loads the new filament, then keeps on printing. I've learned to keep a brass-bristled brush ready to gingerly catch dribbles at the nozzle after priming, but otherwise, this has worked well each of the 3 times I've used it.  So, I don't worry about tracking how much filament is on a spool, I just make sure I have a fresh spool on hand.

[Duncan Reed]

I have used spoolmanager since it was development and some of my suggestion and bug fixes made it into the final version. The author does a number of octoprint plug-ins I use.

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On 26 Feb 2021, at 14:03, Neil MacGregor <nmac...@ualberta.ca> wrote:



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[Daniel Rosen]

Thanks all. I will try spoolmanager. Seems the easiest option thus far. I am wondering why is it so difficult to make something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Fish-Digital-Fishing-Trolling-Adjustable/dp/B084MHM6QF/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=fishing+line+counter&qid=1614386180&sr=8-3

[Kurt at VR-FX]

So - why not design one. One problem is - you would need to have one for each spool. And, even on a per spool basis - its not quite viable. That device is really meant to be used on a single fishing rod. Where as - us 3DP folks - we use Multiple spools. Know what I mean?

-K

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[Daniel Rosen]

Clear as water. All I need to know is how much filament left on a spool. I believe that the  spoolmanager add on will do the job. 

Thanks all for the great advice. I love this group. 

Dan. 

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On Feb 26, 2021, at 7:44 PM, Kurt at VR-FX <vr...@optonline.net> wrote:



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[Vishal Pai]

S3D is a smooth operator for a lot of such things. You can also set the cost per kg and color of the filaments. 

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[LukeH]

If you are after a self-contained solution, there is also the eSun filament box, which is a heated dry box that also weighs the spool to give an accurate estimate of the filament remaining any time you want.

They are particularly good for printing with nylon, since you can print straight from the dehydrator.

[Daniel Rosen]

Sorry I am still circling around this. But why not a smart odometer connected to octoprint? one that remembers and tracks the amount of filament used. Then you will need just one such odometer that you will set to 0 each time a print starts.

Also, I can't believe I cannot find an octoprint add on that tells you realtime or estimates filament usage.

[James Fackert]

Why the obsession with accuracy in "miles of filament left"?

A quick check of filament roll diameter, underestimate remainder,  and go/no go.

If you have to be hi tech about it, make an optical or mechanical spool radius gauge.

build it into a spool management and tangle preventer and maybe filament run-out / overtension device.

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[Daniel Rosen]

excellent question!. I am a medical educator and print anatomy models (among other things) for medical education. In a few instances I found that my models are screwed up mid print. I know that I can print 4 to 5 models in 1 spool. But if it randomly stops I dont know how much is left and how many more I can print from that spool. I may have enough left for a different models but not the original I was printing. I dont have a lot of spare spools either. I buy them as I need because all of these print are out of my pocket. So trying to be cost efficient.

[Alan Biocca]

Best to work by weight, not length. The slicer tells you the weight you will need for a print. You can weigh the print easily enough afterward to verify the calibration. You can weigh the spool when it is new and full, and know you have 1kg of filament on it. Easy enough to keep track. 

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[Daniel Rosen]

I agree this is the best solution. I just got a little kitchen scale from Amazon and out the numbers on filament manager in octopi. Run a small print. It did all the calculations and kept tacks of it automatically. 

It works for me. 

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On Feb 28, 2021, at 12:41 PM, Alan Biocca <alan....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[TobyCWood]

There are other approaches:

1. Buy BIG spools. Matterhackers.

2. Try the Mosaic palette. It can sense lack of filament coming in from one spool and splice the end to the next. That would give you 4 spools you can cycle through. The only problem with this approach is the Palette. It's a pretty complicated thing to get working well, but this is a relatively simple task for it.

[Daniel Rosen]

Thanks for your suggestion Andy. I buy 1Kg spools that is usually enough for several models. I don’t print that many. I thought about buying the palette but the cost does not really justify it. 

Perhaps the Chameleon?

I just recently had the need to really optimize the way I use my filament because is all coming from my pocket. 

Thanks. 

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On Feb 28, 2021, at 3:43 PM, TobyCWood <andyc...@gmail.com> wrote:

There are other approaches:

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[TobyCWood]

No there's nothing as of yet which would support this using the 3DChameleon and the Palette's real expense is the time you have to invest to get it to do what you want reliably.