Spare parts inventory: track and manage maintenance supplies

The inventory feature lets you track spare parts and hardware for your printer fleet - nozzles, belts, bearings, PTFE tubes, and general hardware like nuts, bolts, screws and magnets. Set stock levels, get alerted when parts run low, and let the system automatically deduct parts when maintenance tasks are completed.

Table of contents

• Tracking nuts, bolts and other hardware
• Adding spare parts
• Stock management
• Stock status indicators
• Low-stock alerts
• Importing default parts
• How inventory connects to maintenance tasks

Tracking nuts, bolts and other hardware

The inventory isn't limited to printer parts. Anything you keep in stock for your printers or your prints can go in it: nuts, bolts, screws, washers, threaded inserts, magnets, bearings, springs or glue. This is the place for hardware stock in SimplyPrint; the Filament Manager is only for filament spools.

1. Add each item as a part (see the steps below), for example "M3 x 8 mm bolt" or "6 x 3 mm magnet".
2. Under Category, pick Custom... and type a category such as "Hardware" or "Fasteners", so these items are easy to tell apart from printer parts. Use the same name each time.
3. Leave Compatible printer brands and Compatible printer models empty, so the item counts for every printer.
4. Pick the Unit that matches how you count it: Pieces for bolts and magnets, Grams if you weigh small hardware in bulk.

Check: the item shows in Maintenance > Inventory with your custom category and its stock level.

Adding spare parts

To add a new part to your inventory:

1. Go to Maintenance > Inventory.
2. Click Add part.
3. Fill in the details:
4. • Name - descriptive name like "0.4mm Brass Nozzle", "GT2 Timing Belt 6mm" or "M3 x 8 mm bolt"
   • SKU - optional part number, for your own reference
   • Description - what the part is and what it's used for
   • Category - Nozzle, Bed plate, Belt, PTFE tube, Filter, Bearing, Fan, Hotend, Extruder gear or Other, or Custom... to type your own (like "Hardware")
   • Quantity - how many you currently have in stock
   • Unit - Pieces, Meters, Milliliters or Grams
   • Low stock alert - the system alerts you when stock drops to this level
   • Compatible printer brands - optionally limit this part to specific printer brands
   • Compatible printer models - optionally limit to specific printer models
   • Cost per unit and Buy link - for easy reordering
   • Image - upload a photo of the part
4. Click Add part to save.

Stock management

There are two ways stock levels change:

Manual adjustment

Use the Adjust stock action on any part. Choose a Type:

• Add - new stock arrived
• Remove - parts used or damaged outside of maintenance tasks
• Set - enter the counted quantity after a physical check

Then enter the quantity, and optionally a Reason (free text, for example "Restocked").

You can also change the stock directly in the inventory list, with the - and + buttons in the Stock column or by typing a new number.

Automatic deduction

When a maintenance task is completed and that task has a spare part requirement, the system automatically deducts the required quantity from inventory. For example, if a "nozzle replacement" task requires 1 nozzle, completing the task reduces nozzle stock by 1.

This only works when:

• The task template has a spare part assigned (direct part or category-based)
• The task's spare part quantity is set to more than 0
• The inventory has been set up with matching parts

Stock status indicators

Each part in the inventory list shows a status badge:

• In stock (green) - stock is above the low stock alert level, or no alert level is set
• Low stock (yellow) - stock has dropped to or below the low stock alert level
• Out of stock (red) - quantity is zero

The dashboard stat card also shows a quick summary of your inventory health.

Low-stock alerts

When a part drops to or below its low stock alert level, the system:

1. Sends a notification to configured recipients
2. Fires a webhook event (maintenance.low_stock) if you have webhooks set up
3. Shows the part in the Inventory overview card on the maintenance dashboard

Importing default parts

SimplyPrint includes a library of common spare parts you can import into your inventory. Click Import defaults on the inventory tab (or Import default parts while the inventory is empty) to see what's available. Imported parts come with a category and description, and some with a suggested low stock alert level. They start with a stock of 0, so set your own quantities after importing.

How inventory connects to maintenance tasks

The inventory system works hand-in-hand with task templates:

1. When creating a task template, you can assign a spare part requirement - either a specific part or a category of parts
2. When that template is used in a maintenance job, the task shows which part it needs
3. When the technician completes the task, the system prompts them to select the part (if category-based) and deducts it from stock
4. In the picker, parts that are out of stock are left out and parts with too little stock are greyed out. To complete the task anyway, pick None ("Complete without deducting stock"). A task tied to one specific part always completes; its stock just stops at 0

For category-based requirements, the spare part picker shows parts sorted by relevance: parts matching the printer's model first, then matching brand, then generic parts.

Read more about templates: Task templates: define reusable maintenance procedures
Read more about jobs: Maintenance jobs: scheduling and completing printer maintenance
Back to overview: Printer maintenance: keep your fleet running smoothly

Updated on: 27/10/2026