Filament Length Counter - End of filament handling

[Chris1 2]

Hi,

the only thing I'm missing on my UM2+Ext is a way to keep track of how much filament is left on the spool.

Can you implement a counter in the firmware that keeps track of how many meters of filament were used?

I know, the counter has to be manually set when you change the roll of filament, and I won't be super-accurate, but it will be much better than nothing (what we currently have).

The counter should be visible either permanently while printing, only for the first 30 seconds when a print is started, or only in some advanced service-menu.

If I start a print, the firmware could ask: "It seems there is too little filament left, please watch out, and change the spool mid-run!".

Or it could pause the print, when the condition "FilamentConter - safetyMargin <= 0" is reached. Currently, when I run out of filament over night, the print is ruined, because the printer can't detect when the filament runs out. (This would be another good add-on that Ultimaker should offer: "detection of 'end of filament' with photodiode near the geared feeder".)

Thanks!

[Franny500 9]

Good idea this.