STARTSpoolbase
Connect your printer and enable Spoolbase
This example uses a local Bambu Lab printer with AMS and a roll without an RFID tag. Each step has a working Gantry window with example data. Click it as you would in the app: the highlighted control shows what to do next, and “Start over” resets the step.
- The printer is added to Gantry and its card shows a current status.
- Enable Spoolbase under Settings → General. Choose local Spoolbase as your inventory.
- Run Gantry before starting the print and keep it running until the job finishes.
The option to display grams on cards changes the view. Enabling it alone does not assign a roll to a printer. For an external inventory, use the Spoolman documentation.
PLA Matte Terracotta, nominally 1000 g per roll, with an example price of 79 PLN per roll. Inventory includes a full roll and an opened roll with 620 g left. Price is optional and is not required for tracking grams.
01Spoolbase
Add the product and its physical rolls
- Open Spoolbase from the Gantry menu or sidebar.
- Click ＋. Search the catalogue by brand, series, material and colour, then select the correct product.
- At the bottom, enter the weight of one new roll, the number of spools and optionally the price of one roll.
- Click Add to mine, or the button to add more spools if you already have this product.
- Roll weight
- 1000 g of filament, excluding the empty spool.
- Number of spools
- 2 creates two separate physical rolls.
- Roll price
- 79 PLN each, not 158 PLN for both.
- Currency
- Use the currency configured for Gantry pricing.
Each physical roll has its own identifier, such as SP-00001. The product describes the material and colour; the roll holds its own weight, price and location. Two rolls of the same PLA can have different amounts left.
If the roll already exists in inventory, go straight to assignment. Moving it out of a printer keeps its identifier and remaining grams.
02Spoolbase
Click the slot holding your filament
- Put the physical roll into the printer, for example AMS A1.
- On the correct printer card, click the A1 filament field. Alternatively, open AMS / Filaments, select the printer and click its slot.
- Check the printer and slot names. A1 on your P1S is a different location from A1 on another printer.
For an external spool, choose EXT if your device exposes that field. Selecting colours in the slicer and assigning a physical inventory roll in Spoolbase are separate settings.
03Spoolbase
Choose the roll that is actually in this slot
The assignment window has two lists. The left side selects an existing physical roll; the right side creates a new roll from a product. Each list has its own search field.
A. A full, new roll
If you added it in step 1, it is already on the left under Available rolls. Click the row with its SP identifier to assign it while keeping its weight and price.
If the physical roll does not exist yet, use ＋ Create new roll or select the product on the right. The Starting amount page opens. Optionally enter a price, then click the actual amount, for example 1000 g. A weight preset creates and assigns the roll immediately. For a different amount, enter it in the field and click Create.
Do not create another roll if that physical spool is already listed. Adding it twice inflates your stock.
B. A roll with some filament already used
- Select the existing roll on the left, for example SP-00002 · 620 g. If it is assigned to another printer, confirm moving it here. The previous slot is freed.
- If its saved balance needs correcting, reopen this slot and click Weigh.
- Keep the new-roll capacity at 1000 g and set the filament left to 620 g. Save.
You can also weigh it with the spool: 820 g on the scale − 200 g empty spool = 620 g of filament. Use the gross-weight and empty-spool fields, with the actual tare of your spool.
When adding an opened roll for the first time, create it with its proper nominal capacity and then use Weigh. A kilogram roll with 620 g left should have a 1000 g capacity and 620 g remaining. Setting capacity to 620 g would treat that amount as a full roll.
04Spoolbase
Check the roll identifier and weight in this slot
The window may close after a selection. Click the same slot again and inspect Assigned spool. The example should read P1S → AMS A1 → SP-00002 → 620 g → 62%.
This identifier tells Gantry which physical roll to charge. The material name or colour alone is not enough. When moving a roll, select that same roll from the list in its new slot.
05Spoolbase
Compare the same roll after a print
- In the slicer, choose the material and AMS slot matching the roll physically loaded.
- Start the print with Gantry running. For Bambu, usage comes from the printed 3MF file. Access to the file and the printer access code must work.
- Once the job finishes and its data is read, reopen A1 and inspect the same SP roll.
The card may show a live balance estimate while printing. Final accounting and history depend on the available job data. This is a print-data estimate, not an electronic scale reading. Use Weigh to reconcile the balance with a real measurement.
You do not need to reset the roll after each print. Reset restores it to a full roll and clears that roll’s consumption history. Use it deliberately, not as a refresh button.
HELPSpoolbase
If consumption is not being deducted
The material and colour are visible, but grams do not change
Open the correct slot. Assigned spool must identify a physical SP roll. A product in the catalogue or a colour reported by AMS does not by itself identify which inventory roll should be charged.
The left-hand list is empty
Check that physical rolls were added, that search is not hiding them, and that they are not empty or archived. For a new spool outside inventory, create a roll on the right.
My spool count increases every time
You may be creating the same physical roll again. Assign its existing SP identifier from the left list. Only add a new entry for a new physical spool.
The saved weight has not changed after printing
Check the connection, whether Gantry was running, and access to the correct 3MF file. If usage could not be read or matched to a roll, inspect the accounting notice in Spoolbase. Before deducting manually, check that accounting is not still in progress.
The computer slept or Gantry was closed
Keep Gantry running from start to finish on the next print. If it missed the ending, it may not be able to deduct safely. Check history and correct the actual balance using Weigh.
A full RFID roll shows 0%, or choosing another roll is unavailable
Check the same slot in Bambu Studio and inspect the detected tag. A missing reading does not automatically mean an empty spool. A tag-reading slot can select its roll automatically, so overriding it with a different roll is not the appropriate fix.
The printer card does not show grams
Check the roll-grams display option under Settings → Appearance. This is a presentation setting. Check the physical roll assignment separately.
Spoolman is enabled
This guide covers local Spoolbase. With Spoolman active, inventory comes from an external server and usage ownership needs separate configuration to avoid deducting twice.
CHECKSpoolbase
Before your next print
- Spoolbase is enabled and the printer is connected.
- The product and its physical roll exist in inventory.
- Nominal capacity and remaining grams are correct.
- The correct slot shows the correct SP identifier.
- The slicer uses that same slot.
- Gantry will stay running through completion and read the job data.
More about Spoolbase inventory · Full Spoolbase documentation · Costs and energy