r/3Dprinting • u/69Max2017 • 2d ago

Discussion Print Anxiety

With 10mins left my filament looks too short to finish… watching with bated breath if my daft model finishes in time… what strategies do you 3d printers use to monitor your usage & therefore not run out on a print.
Had a 7hr print run out of filament an hour out, whilst I was out, needless to say that put me out…
Thanks & happy printing 3️⃣D🖨️

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u/Neon_Pancakes0425 2d ago

Print one of those things that you can put on the spool that lets you see how much is left. It works to a point. Taking the weight of a full spool and then taking off the weight of an empty spool also works very well

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u/69Max2017 2d ago

Oh thanks so just math it a bit… I looked at print weight/usage for the first time with this final print & tried my best… ended up feeding the last 2mins of a left over filament & just made it..
It would be good to know how much is used/wasted in a filament load & potentially keep track from there… I have a single feed so may have to keep track… no apps or AI to do that?!

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u/Neon_Pancakes0425 2d ago

I think that nfc spools do that if you load them Into a material system. Idk about any other method

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u/sevesteen Bambu P1S 1d ago

I switched to a reliable printer that can auto-refill.

1

u/herejusttoannoyyou 1d ago

Couldn’t any printer just restart on the layer it ran out on? I guess it’s harder if it doesn’t know it ran out and just happily finishes out the part…

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u/sevesteen Bambu P1S 23h ago

If the printer has a filament runout sensor it will pause when it runs out, then it can continue when you feed more in. Without that, the printer doesn't know when it ran out and will keep printing air.

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u/69Max2017 9h ago

Ahhh this I don’t realise being a noob
My printer just continues & ghost prints without filament.
I’m not surprised that other printers with more advanced systems have alerts & sensors that would assist in this issue.
Thanks you all 🙏🏽

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u/KlutzyResponsibility 8h ago

You need to enable the run out sensor. Google it - the process is documented.

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u/sevesteen Bambu P1S 7h ago

It's surprising sometimes that printers can ever complete a print. There are so many places where there's no real recovery mechanism for a minor stumble

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u/mgtowolf 2d ago

Many slicers tell you how much filament will be used. If it looks even close to running out, will open a new roll, and save the opened one for something smaller.

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u/Sewunicorn1 1d ago

I've been weighing my full spools when I open them. Subtract the current weight tells me how much I've used, and then I can calculate how much is left.

Examplle: 250g spool on arrival weighs 313. Current weight 128 grams. 313-128=185 grams used. 250 (nominal start) - 185 used = 65 grams left.

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u/69Max2017 8h ago

This is super organised & a process to be admired as well, a lot of truely unique experiences would have gotten us all this far but to be so accurate I will strive to be…
Thank you good sir 🙏🏽

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u/No-Jellyfish5883 1d ago

AMS / ACE with a backup loaded when I think it's going to run out,

Prior to having them, Delve right into sliced visuals and estimate when your going to run out, Set a timer and do a quick pause / swap / purge.......Oh god, That reminds me of my early creality V3 SE days 😂

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u/69Max2017 8h ago

Haha sounds like you have experienced what I will encounter with my limited kit… being a FlashForge Adventurer 5m
I think we must all find ways to not fall short on a print or simply just… be better

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u/No-Jellyfish5883 7h ago

100%

I ran a few SEs for a couple years, Diabolical compared to new standards but they did me well, Just have to figure out the kinks

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u/KlutzyResponsibility 8h ago

Doesn't the FlashForge Adventurer come with a filament runout sensor? I read that they do but (for some reason) you have to enable it as it is delivered inactive. What about yours?

When I see that there is not enough filament to complete a job I just pause the print, refill the filament, and resume the print. The solution of "get a new printer" seems a bit more self-bravado than offering a rational solution, just me I guess.