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SpoolmanScale Pro

Version 0.2.0

A complete rewrite of the 0.1 prototype. It runs on a Raspberry Pi you set up yourself with one command.

SpoolmanScale Pro turns a Raspberry Pi into the filament server for your SpoolmanScale. It runs the filament managers the scale speaks, Spoolman, FilaMan and BamBuddy, one at a time or several at once, and switches between them from a web page. The scale is switched along with it.

Easy from the start, easy to keep

  • Installed with one command. Everything after that happens in the browser, without a terminal.
  • Backends update with one click. You see what changed in every version in between; a backup is made first, and if the new version does not start, the old one comes back by itself.
  • The Pi updates itself: Raspberry Pi OS, with a list of every package before anything is installed, and SpoolmanScale Pro from its releases. It looks for updates every six hours and installs only when you click.
  • Backups happen by themselves, every day, and can be downloaded or restored with a click.
  • It stays a Raspberry Pi. Use it for other things too. Remote access through Tailscale installs from the page.

Who it is for

  • You have no filament manager yet and don't want to set up a server by hand. Install, pick a backend, done.
  • You want to try the other backends without touching your setup. Each one keeps its own data; switching takes about a minute.
  • You want everything on one address. The scale's own web interface shows on the Pi's page as well.
  • You don't want to look after a server. Updates, backups and the scale's setup are buttons, not commands.

What it does
Backends Spoolman, FilaMan and BamBuddy in Docker, one at a time or several at once, as far as the Pi allows
Switching one click; the scale follows, the page shows each step
The scale found on the network, set up from the page: server addresses, FilaMan registration, BamBuddy key
Backups by hand and once a day, download, restore, from a file
Updates backends with their release notes, SpoolmanScale Pro itself, Raspberry Pi OS; looked for every six hours, BamBuddy's daily builds on request
Network WLAN from the page, the Pi's own WLAN, a fixed address, and a setup WLAN when nothing else connects
Remote access Tailscale, installed and connected from the page
Access a login your password manager can store

What you need

  • A Raspberry Pi with 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS Lite
  • A SpoolmanScale with firmware 0.7.0 or newer
  • About 3.5 GB free on the SD card for all three backends

Which Pi does what:

Pi Backends Recommended
Zero 2 W (512 MB) one at a time Spoolman; FilaMan and BamBuddy run, but slowly
3B / 3B+ (1 GB) two at once, after a warning with the numbers any one; two small ones together
4 / 5 with 2 GB or more all three at once everything

The page recognises the Pi and offers what fits. RAM in use, measured: Spoolman about 100 MB, BamBuddy 240 to 420 MB, FilaMan about 480 MB.

BamBuddy below a Pi 4

Inventory, printer status, print archive and notifications run on any of them. BamBuddy's live camera view for X1, H2 and P2 printers and its timelapses need a Pi 4 or 5. Each backend's Info on the overview says what the Pi in front of you means for it.

Several at once is useful when backends work together: BamBuddy can keep its inventory in Spoolman, and FilaMan has a plugin for BamBuddy.

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