How to Tell How Much Filament You Have Left
Guide to determining how much plastic PLA filament is left on the spool
By Rob Cockerham |
Here is a hopeful resource for people with 3D printers.
Plastic filament is usually sold in 1 Kg spools. This is enough plastic to print a bunch of models and projects. Everything is fine until the spool is nearly empty, when there is a possibility that the plastic filament will run out halfway through your project and your seven-hour print will end up looking like the headless hulk.
3D slicing software is kind enough to tell you how many grams of filament you will need, but if you don't have a scale, it can be hard to tell if you have enough!
Also, if you DO have a scale, remember that the empty zyltech spool weighs 180 grams, so don't include that weight.
Here are some reference photos of true, weighed partial spools of 1.75mm PLA filament.
More photos of a spool with 725 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 660 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 600 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 570 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 475 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 355 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 265 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 195 grams of filament.
More photos of a spool with 75 grams of filament.
