Ball-Bearing Spool Support with Adjustable Clip

thingiverse

This is a versatile spool holder and spool clip designed for the Flying Bear P902 printer, but it should work seamlessly on most printers constructed with 2020 aluminum extrusions. The spool barrel measures 30 mm dia. x 90 mm long, providing ample support for nearly all existing filament spools. The clip assembly is ingeniously designed to slide up and down along the 2020 extrusion, allowing for precise positioning right at the edge of the spool flange. This setup effectively prevents the spool from shifting along the barrel and stops filament from wandering between the spool flange and the 2020 extrusion. To assemble this device, you'll need to print several key components: A single Shaft Barrel (printed with the larger-chamfered end facing up) A single Shaft Support Block (printed with the u-shaped opening pointing upwards) Two Bearing Spacers One Spool Wedge (printed with the longer narrow side downwards) Two Wedge Clip Plates Notably, none of these parts require supports during printing. I printed mine using 0.2mm layers and 20% fill. If you wish to attach the spool holder to the opposite side of the 2020 extrusion as shown in the photographs, simply 'mirror' the spool wedge in your slicer program before printing it. To complete this assembly, you'll need the following hardware: Two 608ZZ skateboard bearings (to be inserted into both ends of the shaft barrel) Either one M8 x 100 mm hex bolt or one 5/16-18 x 4" hex bolt (to support the shaft barrel) Either one M8 nylon insert hex nut or one 5/16-18 nylon insert hex nut (for the end of the hex bolt) Two M4 x 20 mm button-head socket cap screws with washers (to attach the shaft support block to the 2020 extrusion) Two M4 t-nuts for 2020 aluminum extrusions (to attach the shaft support block to the 2020 extrusion) Four M3.5 x 13mm or #6 x 1/2 in. Phillips pan-head sheet metal screws (to attach the wedge clip plates to the sides of the spool wedge) The photographs provide a clear representation of how the parts fit together. Since the shaft barrel features a split, you can easily insert the bearings into the barrel by hand. Additionally, no complex calibration is required when printing the barrel diameter, as it can spring open to accommodate the ball bearings. The spacers are positioned on either side of the bearings, as shown in the photographs. The nylon-insert nut only needs to be screwed onto the bolt until its outer face aligns with the end of the bolt; it should not be tightened against the bearings. When clamping the barrel assembly to the 2020 extrusion, adjust the axial position of the bolt so that there is only a slight amount of axial play in the bearings. When placing a spool on the spool barrel, slide the spool clip assembly upward until it contacts or is very near to the spool flange. I hope this Thingiverse community finds this design useful. If you have any questions about this project, please post them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.