SpoolBuddy · Beta
Know every spool you own.
SpoolBuddy is filament management with its own hardware. It reads Bambu Lab's RFID spools and writes your own tags for everything else — so a no-name PETG from a bargain bin gets tracked exactly like a Bambu one. Tap a spool to identify it, put it on the scale to weigh it, and it lands in your Bambuddy inventory.
Any brand of spool Reads and writes tags Fully local
What it actually does
Writes tags for any spool
Bambu Lab's own spools carry MIFARE Classic RFID. For everything else you write your own NTAG213/215/216 sticker — so third-party filament is tracked with the same detail as first-party.
Tap to identify
Hold a spool against the reader and its brand, material, colour and remaining weight come straight up. No typing, no hunting through a list.
Weighs what is left
A load cell under the platform reads the spool live, so "remaining" is measured rather than estimated from what the slicer thought it would use.
Syncs with your inventory
Everything lands in the Bambuddy spool inventory automatically — the same table that drives AMS slot assignment and low-stock counts.
Controls the printer too
Swipe down for a quick menu: toggle printer power through your smart plugs, or restart, reboot and shut down the device itself.
Nothing leaves the network
It talks to your Bambuddy instance over your own LAN. No account, no vendor cloud, no telemetry — the same rule as everything else here.
What you need to build one
It is a build, not a product you order — the full bill of materials, wiring diagrams and assembly steps are on the wiki.
Compute & display
- Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 running Raspberry Pi OS.
- 7″ HDMI touchscreen, 1024×600. The interface is built for touch.
- A stable PSU for your Pi model — undervoltage makes the device behave erratically.
Sensing
- PN5180 NFC reader over SPI — what the daemon driver targets.
- NAU7802 ADC over I2C, plus a load cell for live weight.
- NTAG213/215/216 stickers for spools that have no tag of their own.
Two ways to run it
- Companion mode — the Pi runs only the kiosk and daemon, talking to Bambuddy on your NAS or server. Best for a 2 GB Pi.
- Full local — Bambuddy and SpoolBuddy on the same Pi, one box for everything.
Build one
SpoolBuddy is in beta. The wiki has the parts list, wiring diagrams, the assembly guide and the install command — and the Discord is where people compare builds.