3d Printer Filament Scale

thingiverse

Welcome to my Filament Scale project, which I have successfully mounted on my Taz5 printer for over a year now. I am extremely satisfied with its operation and accuracy, despite some inevitable errors caused by the filament pulling mechanism. This system gives me a reliable estimate of how much filament I have before starting a new project. As an added bonus, you can mount it to a wall or use it as an adapter for another printer if needed. The parts were printed using ABS at 25% fill, which is not particularly impressive but essential for printing accurate 608zz bearings without any issues. These bearings allow the support arm to rotate and make contact with the vertically mounted 3kg load cell. The most challenging aspect of this project is undoubtedly the electronics, requiring some experience to complete successfully. I have used an ESP32 Dev board paired with a Nextion NX3224T028-011 display, which provides a clear interface for monitoring the scale's readings. Power can be supplied through either a micro USB cable plugged into your computer or an external adapter. To ensure proper compilation of the code, I highly recommend following Andreas Spiess' tutorial #170 on YouTube. You will also find the source code for the ESP32 and display included in this package. The HMI file for the Nextion display uses standard graphics, making it compatible with any T version display. This project is geared towards advanced users who are familiar with Arduino programming and electronics. If you're unsure about the components or processes involved, it's best to wait until you gain more experience before attempting this project. My ultimate goal is to integrate the HX711 load cell sensor into the Octoprint project, adding this scale feature to it. I hope someone will take on this challenge and make it a reality. For now, I'm focusing on other projects that require my attention. Using the filament scale is straightforward: simply tare or zero it out with an empty spool to display the remaining filament weight. The first time you use it, you'll need to press the CAL button and adjust the gain to ensure accurate readings with a known weight applied. Unfortunately, I couldn't provide a more detailed build guide due to my busy project schedule. Thank you for your interest in my Filament Scale project! Best regards, Kisssys