Add the ability to track filament remaining on spools using a number

[julie777]

This request is a duplicate of the one that I created for Bambu Studio #2386. I am repeating it here because

• Orca Slicer supports many printers that do not have an AMS so it is even more useful to the Orca user base
• It is more likely to get accepted and implemented in Orca than BS.

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Sometimes I do not have enough filament remaining to print a part, and I do not have another spool of that filament available to be able to swap spools mid print. I currently have to make a guess whether to try the print and hope for the best, or just wait until I buy more filament.

Another use case is when printing overnight or remotely and I do not want to start a print that cannot finish.

Note: I do not have an AMS, and even if I did the AMS does not track non-BBL filament without RFID tags.

Describe the solution you'd like

In Bambu Studio provide the ability to number filament spools and have it use the estimated amount of filament for a model to track usage for that spool.

The implementation of this is simple and does not require being extremely accurate to be useful.

Supporting Structure

Add a numbered spool list to the Bambu Studio configuration to keep track of the known spools and current weight.

User Interface

1. In the print dialog provide spool number drop-down menu to allow choosing which spool is currently being used. The default value should be the last spool used. (It is common to print multiple jobs one after another using the same spool.)
2. The last option in the menu should be add new spool which provides a way to enter the starting weight.
3. In the chooser, the current calculated weight should be shown next to the spool number.
4. if the weight for the current spool is less than the amount needed to print then the user should be warned before printing. However, the user should be able to continue if desired. The printer will run out, stop and notify the user. The user will load a new spool. When printing continues, Bambu Studio should prompt for the spool number of the inserted spool and continue based on that spool.
5. allow the user to remove a spool number from the list, or reset the weight (if reusing the same number is allowed)

Notes

• because it might be difficult to know how much filament has been use up to the point where the filament runs out and is changed by the user, that part could be optional. However, given that the printer is reporting the current layer number, I believe that Bambu Studio can calculate this.
• better accuracy can be achieved if the estimated amount of filament for a print job includes any required filament during the startup code. I do not know if that is in the estimated amount of filament currently.
• Optionally, provide the ability to set the current spool number for a given printer in the "prepare" section so I can just set it after I change spools and not have to wait until I am sending the next print.

Describe alternatives you've considered

I could weight my spools full and empty and keep my own list and update it manually.

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[github-actions]

GitHub bot: This issue was closed because it has been inactive for 7 days since being marked as stale.

[TribalPilot]

Julie777 - I'm not a developer or coder or anything like that, so I'm not even sure if you'll see this message. But the feature request listed above is an incredibly creative and useful idea and something I would love to see happen as well. Did you ever find a way to make something like this happen? I'm primarily looking for a way to track my remaining filament (non-BBL filament) - even if it's just a rough idea. I currently am weighing my spool when brand new and then if I'm not sure exactly how much I have left, I need to remove it from my printer and re-weigh it. This works but adds a bit of friction to the process...