Elegoo has confirmed that full color printing is coming to the Centauri Series of FDM 3D printers by the third quarter of 2025. The highly anticipated Automatic Filament Switching System will be the first to feature open-source RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, a move that could shake up filament management in the 3D printing industry.
Bambu Lab was the first to introduce RFID-tagged spools to consumer-grade printers. The tags, taped to the spool’s inner cardboard core, store information on the material’s type and color for the printer to read. This information is then transmitted to the slicer, saving the user the extra steps of squinting at spools, writing down print temperatures, and then manually configuring materials on their computer. Creality and Anycubic followed suit with the introduction of their own multimaterial 3D printers and house lines of filaments. However, each system can only read its own RFID tag and is encrypted to prevent third-party access.
This system of convenience has misguided many new Bambu Lab users into believing their printers can only operate with proprietary filament. An open-source system would encourage users to step outside their walled garden to explore the vast world of filament created by other manufacturers.
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Elegoo’s RFID tags will embed information about the type, color, brand, and remaining weight of the spools with a rewritable storage tag. The data structure has been posted to GitHub, and Elegoo has invited the community at large to freely create or modify compatible filament products. The company stated in a blog post that it aims to promote cross-brand compatibility and the adoption of industry standards.