RFID Color & Material Swatches for the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 Canvas and other printers with RFID/NFC

Summary

These printable filament swatches work as both physical color and material samples and smart RFID tags and are designed to make filament management faster and more automated.

You can quickly compare colors for new designs, and when paired with the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 Canvas system (or other RFID enabled printers that use NTAG213 type tags), the swatch can automatically set the correct filament type and color on the printer, no need to configure it manually on the touchscreen.

Each swatch is printed using the actual filament it represents, so what you see is exactly what you’ll get on your prints.

How it works

• The model includes a small pocket for an RFID sticker.

• Add a pause in your slicer (or pause manually) just before the layer that closes this pocket.

• When the printer pauses, place the RFID sticker inside and resume the print.

• After printing, program the tag with an NFC-enabled smartphone for example (if android check the app "ELG RFID" which worked great for me, elegoo's rfid structure is open source: https://github.com/ELEGOO-3D/ELEGOO-RFID-Tag-Guide).

Available versions

To match different workflows and preferences, multiple variants are included:

• Material-labeled versions – Pre-made with the filament type written on the front, these all have the internal pocket for the RFID sticker but they print well even if you don't insert the sticker.

• Blank text version – Keeps the front design but lets you add your own material name in the slicer, has the internal RFID pocket.

• External RFID version – Designed for gluing the RFID tag on the outside, ideal if you want to label it by hand with a pen.

• Thermal-label version – Front area sized for a 14×22 mm thermal label, has the pocket for the RFID inside.

Why print these

• Quickly compare colors before committing to a full print

• Automatic filament identification on the Elegoo Centauri Carbon 2 with canvas

• You don’t need a separate RFID tag for every spool if you mainly use the same filament brands and materials you can just use the swatch

• These RFID stickers are extremely affordable and remove a lot of manual setup, making your printing workflow faster and easier

• When you no longer need a tag for a filament swatch, you can simply reprogram it for another use or just use it as a keychain instead.

Print a set for your filaments and you’ll always know exactly what you’re loading, visually and digitally.

You can print the text in a contrasting color for better readability, or simply paint it with a permanent marker.

Enabling ironing on the top surfaces will noticeably improve the finish and give the swatches a cleaner, more polished look (I have not done this on most of them as you can probably tell).

What you need (or may want), these are affiliate links which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase through them, at no extra cost to you:

• 25mm diameter white RFID stickers:
  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4pI37IX
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• Small key rings:
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• Big keyring:
  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3uTPN8x
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• Inexpensive thermal label printer:
  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c2uHwEYr
  https://amzn.to/4u0fDtb
  

• 14x22mm thermal printer labels:
  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3Hqky7H
  https://amzn.to/4nhzx0e