Anycubic i3 Mega Spool "Bearing"

thingiverse

** NOTE: Updated STL File Now Matches Photo! You've Got It Right - This is a Cylinder. This design is specifically for the free filament spool holder that comes standard with the Anycubic i3 Mega 3D printer. If you look closely, you'll notice your spool tends to flop around when rolling, putting unnecessary stress on the extruder step motor. I didn't want to print other designs because they either required additional hardware parts like ball bearings or simply didn't use the spool holder at all - the acrylic design is a nice alternative! What this is instead is a simple plastic roller bearing that fits perfectly around the 16mm metal axle of the Anycubic spool holder. To install it, you'll need to remove the plastic tip from the axle, put on the new bearing, and then replace the tip. Do a before-and-after test, and you'll quickly notice that your spool rolls much more smoothly. This is because you've raised the center of your spool and added another rolling surface that reduces friction. I chose an outer diameter of 50mm for this design because it fits various spools I've used. It's exactly 122mm wide, so it should fit your spool holder without any binding issues. My prototype did require some sanding to get the outer surface really rounded out, but you shouldn't have to do that with the updated .stl file. Have fun printing!