100% printable filament spool holder

thingiverse

Adjustable ======== 100% printable ============ filament spool holder ======================== The adjustable scissor mechanism makes it easy to adjust the width of the spool holder while also holding it firmly enough to keep the set width in place. It takes very little space when folded up. ___________________________________ ### Print-in-place roller bearings While four skate bearings are not much money, I still think that designing something completely 3D printed is more fun if it doesn't compromise with the function of the device. These roller bearing wheels fit this use case perfectly. The cage keeps the rollers rolling straight so they don't jam together and also prevents them from grinding against each other. The cage is optimized for 3D printing, with no difficult overhangs and all bridges are straight, making it an easy print as long as the printer is correctly tuned. The friction between the spool rim and the wheels is quite low so the bearings must spin really easily to keep the spool from sliding against the wheels. This design actually works well, with all four wheels rotating freely without any slipping between the spool and the wheels. https://youtu.be/xqMAyEoEzUE They should come off the plate ready to spin as the tolerances are intentionally quite loose. If they need much work to break loose, the tolerances can be increased in the 'settings' spreadsheet in the FreeCAD model. The wheels are based on this design: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3240362 _______________________________ ### Assembling No glue or screws required. Connect all joints of the scissor before pressing the sliders into the base halves. The orientation of the slots in the joints prevents them from coming apart once the slider is mounted in place, so it must be assembled in the correct order. _______________________________ ### FreeCAD source code included Because it's way more fun when you are free to improve the device. The render is done with blender, blend file also included. _______________________________ ### Printing **No support needed**. It's a good idea to split the bearing wheel in your slicer before slicing so each roller is sliced independently. Using e.g. triangles infill pattern in Slic3r makes a nice symmetric infill in the rollers this way. It's also a good idea to print one of the 'threaded_pulley' wheels first, if it doesn't work for you then there's no point in printing the rest of the parts. The roller bearings might be smoother if you set 'seam position' to 'random' or something similar to avoid having all layers start and stop in the same spot. ## Update 2019-03-19: Fixed a small error in the scissor arm joints ## Update 2019-08-12: New version of the threaded_pulley with bigger tolerances in the thread. The original thread was a bit too tight so it couldn't always be screwed on without using excessive force.