Do I have enough filament left to make my print? It's telling me I need 25 meters, but my PLA filament spool is nearly gone. How much filament do I have left?
First, I weighed my remaining spool with the filament on it. Then, I subtracted the weight of the spool. An average empty one-kilogram spool of PLA filament weighs between 220-260 grams. My filament spool weighed 400 grams, so I have around 150 grams of PLA. This calculator is telling me I have enough for my print! (~50 meters)
3D Filament Length Calculator
Here is the difference in weight versus volume for PLA and ABS plastic.
PLA weight versus volume
- PLA Density: 1.25 g/cm³
- PLA Volume: 0.80 cm³/g or 800 cm³/kg
- 1.75 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 330 meters / ~ 1080 feet
- 3.00 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 110 meters / ~ 360 feet
ABS weight versus volume
- ABS Density: 1.04 g/cm³
- ABS Volume: 0.96 cm³/g or 960 cm³/kg
- 1.75 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 400 meters / ~ 1310 feet
- 3.00 mm filament length for 1 kg spool: ~ 130 meters / ~ 430 feet
Using these factors, it’s pretty easy to convert into length from the weight. If you have enough material to do a print, even if your slicing software is telling you the requirement in meters. It's also possible to do this style of calculation with other materials using the 3D Filament calculator above.