Bambu Lab announced something called “Filametrics”.
It’s a new service they are developing that can provide 3D printer operators with a way to manage filament inventories. A Bambu Lab representative explained in a Reddit post:
“After months of development, my team and I are excited to share Filametrics, a streamlined platform for tracking filament inventory and managing 3D printing projects more efficiently.”
What does this actually do for you? Here are the key features:
- Dashboard with a real-time inventory of your filament spools
- Color-coded displays of total filament, including empty spools
- Spool management functions
- Inventory search by material properties
- “Project Pipeline” with Kanban cards for tracking
- Filament catalog with collaborative features
Filametrics is implemented as a web page right now as it proceeds through the development process. They say that ultimately it will be part of the “Home Assistant” feature.
Currently, there are a few dozen alpha testers — the project is in the “alpha”, which comes before the “beta” stage. This means it is in a pretty rudimentary condition with a lot of development yet to come. However, it is in good enough shape to offer it to friendlies in the public.
Apparently, the basic Filametrics functions will be available to anyone at no charge, but there will be a future subscription fee for access to more advanced functions. According to the Bambu Lab spokesperson:
“We will have a free version that gives you the basics. Paid will have a ton of analytics and prediction models plus tracking for business.”
One of the obvious features one might expect in a spool management system is a way to automatically track filament usage. This could be done through the slicer and/or the machine itself. It sounds like this will be a more advanced feature, as it hasn’t been implemented quite yet. The intent is to “pull data from slicers” to help put together the information automatically.
Another feature to come is the ability to scan (presumably with a smartphone) new spools to bring them into your inventory. I would imagine you’d do so whenever you receive a shipment of spools. Of course, reading RFID codes on spools will also work.
This is an interesting development, and I’m interested to see where this goes. While this could be a very useful tool for many operators, I do wonder how well it will work with third-party spools — or even third-party 3D printers. This could be a way for Bambu Lab to help solidify their ecosystem by making it just a little bit stickier. For busier Bambu Lab equipment operators, this could be a no-brainer when it is released.
Via Reddit
