Proprietary locks you in. Open sets you free. — Tim Berners-Lee

Open Standard, Open To All

No more proprietary, locked-down filament tags. OpenTag3D works across 3D printer brands, filament makers, accessories, and hobbyist projects. The memory map is openly documented, with no encryption or vendor lock-in, so anyone, from major manufacturers to individual makers, can build, read, and write compatible tags.

Low-Cost, Off-the-Shelf Hardware

OpenTag3D uses NTAG213/215/216 NFC tags, the most common and affordable NFC tags on the market. These tags are readable and writable by smartphones, compatible with most off-the-shelf RFID/NFC readers (including low-cost PN532 modules), and require no proprietary hardware.

Compact Format, Complete Data

All the critical data a 3D printer needs (such as manufacturer, material, color, print settings, and more) fits neatly within 144 bytes on an NTAG213. For manufacturers who want to include additional details like serial numbers, production data, or extended specifications, the NTAG215 and NTAG216 provide ample extra space without changing compatibility.

RFID is becoming more prevalent, with each company launching their own RFID system that is incompatible with the rest. OpenTag3D strives to be a standard that allows RFID tags to work across all brands.

OpenTag3D defines a standard for the following:

• Hardware - The specific underlying RFID technology
• Mechanical Requirements - Positioning of tag on the spool
• Data Structure - What data should be stored on the RFID tag, and how that data should be formatted
• Web API - How extended data should be formatted when an optional online spool lookup is requested

Backed by several companies:

• 3D Fuel
• American Filament
• Cosmyx
• Distrifab
• Ecogenesis Biopolymers
• Numakers
• OpenSpool
• Polar Filament

Add RFID support to your printer

This standard was designed to be simple to implement in firmware. You will need to add custom firmware and potentially an RFID reader (if your printer doesn’t already have one). Make sure to read the reader implementation guidelines!

RFID support can theoretically be added to any printer using off-the-shelf RFID Modules such as the PN532 (as low as $3). This module communicates over SPI.

Did you make a design to add RFID to your printer? Let us know so we can link to it here! Designs can be 3D models, or firmware.