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Topic: Is there any software out there for estimating filament used?

I am thinking about getting some of the taulman nylon that can be died with rit dye.  But since I don't want to use up a whole roll with only one color (or pattern) I would like to be able to estimate how much filament to load into the printer.

2 (edited by Boz 2013-12-11 15:21:30)

Re: Is there any software out there for estimating filament used?

First, slice the file so that you get the cubic centimeter reading that estimates how much plastic will be needed.

The volume of a cylinder, which is what the filament is, is:

V = pi * r^2 * h

Where r is roughly 0.875mm (depending on your filament's diameter/radius), so we can solve for h (which is the length of filament needed)

Also 0.875mm is equal to 0.0875cm

h = V/(pi * r^2)

h = V/(pi * (0.0875cm)^2)

h = V/(0.024cm^2)

Inverting that:

h = V * 41.667 cm^-2

This will vary with the radius of the filament, but it should give you a good estimate.

Note:  Make sure to get a good measurement, because the difference in filament diameter changes the number.  Filament with a 1.72mm diameter will give you a multiplier of 43 instead of 41.

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Re: Is there any software out there for estimating filament used?

Slic3r estimates it automatically...

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Re: Is there any software out there for estimating filament used?

elmoret wrote:

Slic3r estimates it automatically...

Well crap.  Haha.  I guess that is the easier way to go about it.

Here's what it looks like:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v338/wmfootball75/Capture.png

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Re: Is there any software out there for estimating filament used?

Ok, cool.  Does KISSlicer do it also?  I usually use KISSlicer but I haven't noticed.