Worked example • illustrative data

Allocate Three Spools Across Five Projects

Scenario

Five separate jobs compete for three compatible PLA blue spools.

Inputs and assumptions

Spools A 400 g, B 300 g, C 200 g. Jobs 1–5 require 250, 200, 180, 150 and 170 g.

Calculation steps

1. Reserve Job 1 from A: A has 150 g free.
2. Reserve Job 2 from B: B has 100 g free.
3. Reserve Job 3 from C: C has 20 g free.
4. Reserve Job 4 from A: A has 0 g free.
5. Job 5 needs 170 g; B and C offer only 120 g combined.

Result

Total demand is 950 g against 900 g stock: aggregate gap 50 g. For Job 5 as a continuous single-spool print, the best free spool has 100 g, leaving 70 g short.

Limits

The 50 g aggregate gap assumes a practical changeover. Reservations do not deduct physical stock. Cancelling a job releases its commitment without adding grams.

These values are examples, not measurements from a real printing experiment. Recalculate with your own settings using the Multi-Project Filament Planner.