Automatic filament weight record keeping
Following a previous discussion about how to know if your upcoming print is going to have enough filament in the roll, it seems that keeping a manual record of the filament used for each print is the most sensible way to avoid running out mid-print.
I want to propose an adjustment to the firmware such that the printer itself will keep that record for you and will alert you if your print will likely not have enough filament. Consider this:
- You load a brand new filament and when you select the type of material on the printer, you also assign a number to it. Say, 01, 02, 03, etc. You also note that number on your spool.
- You confirm that this is a 1kg spool, the printer keeps that record associated with the spool number.
- For every print with that spool (until you unload it), the printer subtracts the grams used from that spool number thus keeping a total remaining weight.
- The next time the spool is changed, it will ask you for the roll number. If it's a new one, the process repeats.
- If you load a filament with a spool number that was used before, you don't need to select the material type anymore but rather just the number (as it's the same type).
- If a loaded gcode indicates that the print is going to take (roughly) more grams than what's remaining on the spool (by comparing to the internal record), it will alert you to change the spool before the print begins - no more running out of filament mid-print 🙂
Those records can be easily kept as a JSON file on the USB drive.
I'm adding a poll below to see if this idea resonates with users and so that the Prusa team can take note.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
Why not check the weight of the roll when new, subtract the net weight of the filament from the gross weight, and you have the spool weight.
then at any time, you can weigh the roll, subtract the spool weight and you have the available weight for print options
Simple and effective
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility. Location Halifax UK
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
Sure but that's the same manual weighing and recording process.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
There are various plug-ins in Octoprint that log the filament consumption in a database. If the filament is no longer sufficient for the print to be started, a warning appears. The condition is, of course, that the amount of filament on the new roll matches the manufacturer's specifications.
wbr,
Karl
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
This plan will fail for anyone with more than one printer.
Cheerio,
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
Hi!
This plan will fail for anyone with more than one printer.
Cheerio,
I don't think so. One of the features of the Filament Manager is: "Support for PostgreSQL as database for multiple instances"
You are correct but the OP is suggesting the *printer* itself should keep the record.
Cheerio,
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
The Filament Manager works quite well with my single MK3/MMU2 and an instance of Octoprint. There are certainly other solutions for printer farms (MES software...).
@amir-s: In which printer Firmware would you like to integrate your idea?
wbr,
Karl
Statt zu klagen, dass wir nicht alles haben, was wir wollen, sollten wir lieber dankbar sein, dass wir nicht alles bekommen, was wir verdienen.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
I doubt if we going to see it implemented ever due to amount of work and complexity of having that in printer firmware versus value added it provides.
For small setups you can do it manually and quite easily by just using a weight scale and calculator with a paper clip with notes about the weight of the empty spool to calculate how much you can print.
Above certain amount of printers you don't care and just rely on filament sensor to detect when it runs out.
What I rather see to happen is second filament sensor which would be added in order to send notification that the spool will run out soon so the operator have time to prepare for faster spool replacement, because it is more important to keep printer running and not waiting for the filament.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
Unless you have a way to automatically know what spool is being used and when it is changed, I find it hard to be a useful tool. Maybe a QR code scanner built in to read the spool code, if there is one. Or bar code or we are back to manually entering data someplace.
Now, a strain gauge on the spool holder could indicate when the spool is getting low by knowing that the mass is getting to a limit. Say an empty Prusa spool is about 200g and you set the limit for 250g.
More complicated setup and more intense hardware.
I personally don't think it is possible for most heavy users.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
Thank you for all the replies. I might have not explained this properly so some points to consider:
- Manual logging on a piece of paper and a scale is a well-understood solution. The proposal here was trying to move away from that.
- The filament sensor is great but hardly solves the issue presented here in the sense that you don't know if what you're about to print has enough filament on the spool
- I didn't know about Filament Manager and Octoprint - thanks, I'll look into it (although does require another install)
- @Robin_13 - my original suggestion was to just mark your spool with a number that you select in the printer UI when loading a filament. QR code would be nice but complicates the solution
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
A simple form that asked how much filament was on the roll when you did a load & a report on what was left when you unloaded would get most of the common use cases. Write the weight left on the spool with a marker when you unload. Input it or the standard 1kg when you load. Have the printer alert when you start if a print that's going to use more than what you have loaded.
Tracking all your spools on or off the printer would be cool, but way to complex to implement, or even maintain by most users if flawlessly implemented.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
I agree that it would be nice but I see all kinds of issues with automation. I have an MMU and that means I would need to track up to 5 rolls on a project and I may not pull the rolls out of the box between jobs.
I see that there are some projects for a usage meter that could be implemented as needed. This could be easily digitized and be read by a computer.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
No need to report the weight to the printer every time it's loaded. The entire point is to do it once (1kg most likely) when new and the printer will deduct the weight for every print (it already knows how much was extruded). All it has to keep track of is which spool number was loaded which the user can input.
...but it has no idea how much was used by any other printer.
Cheerio,
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
I just had a flash of an idea, taken from normal printers, to have a microchip that would report how much filament is left 😉
Oh that nightmare of rewinding used spools! 🙂
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
I thought about this longer and every printer has a measurement device already in place. We just need to interface to it. The extruder does a count of steps and the software knows how many steps per meter of filament. It should be a simple software addition to take that information and feed it back to some device like OctoPrint for example which has a discussion on it and some code. There may be more dicussion.
How to determine filament extruded?
May be able to have the code on the OctoPrint read from the Gcode file the filament and then keep a database of the usage.
RE: Automatic filament weight record keeping
For those lucky enough to have other printers. 🙂 I don't. 🙁 yet.
Chances are that those with multiple printers have them connected to a network and there may be a way of doing it that way.