Introduction

3D printers filament is sold in weight; the most common packages are 1 or 2 Kg filament rolls. The reason is that the product format, i.e. the filament in our case is the most important aspect for the end-user but meaningless for producers. Producers just sell kilograms of plastic material (PLA or ABS); the filament is the form factor provided on the market for a specific usage.

For a similar reason 3D printers users needs to measure their filament in length. Slicer algorithms calculate the meter of filament needed for a certain 3D printed object so it is important to know how much meters remain in the roll before starting a new object printing and how many meters are used during a print job.

Based on the specific weight of the materials used for 3D printing (PLA and ABS have different specific weight) and the filament diameter we are able to dynamically calculate the consumption and remained filament on the spool in grams or kilograms as well as centineters or meters.

Keep the filament usage under control

This kit solves a great issue I have experienced working a lot with 3D printers: controlling the filament consumption while the 3D printer is working. After exploring several possible approaches I decided that the most reliable solution should be based on the weight control.

And the ability to dynamically measure the plastic material (filament) in use by a 3D printer includes some interesting non-obvious aspects helpful in many phases of the 3D printing process.

The kit includes

• All the 22 3D printed part to build the holder/monitor
• The needed Allen screws and nuts to assemble the kit
• N.1 Max 5Kg load sensor
• N.1 MX711 IC board AD/DA converter
• N.1 LCD for Arduino Kit (also sold separately)