CR10 CR-10 spool bearing

thingiverse

Human: I positioned my spool holder on top of the frame. This means the filament is being pulled down, which adds to the friction of the spool on the bar. To reduce this, I created a roller bearing for my machine. I designed it to use eight rollers, so you need to print the two sleeves, two rings and eight rollers. The inner sleeve slides over the standard CR-10 spool bar. The two rings hold the rollers apart, so they don't rub on each other. The outer sleeve fits my spools, from Filamentive (in the UK). The flat on the base of the inner sleeve is held by the locking nut on the end of the spool bar, so the bearing will not disassemble while in use. I printed it all on the CR-10, printing the rollers vertically. I used a brim to help them stick. I had a few attempts to get the clearances correct for the sleeve on the bar, the rollers etc. All working beautifully now. Assembly requires some effort; I slid the ring over the inner sleeve which was standing on the table on its base. I stood one roller on the bottom ring, then put the top ring onto the roller. I worked my way around, pushing each roller up against the top ring, while holding it firmly to stop the previous roller falling out. Once all the rollers are captive between the two rings, I slid the outer sleeve over the assembly. Make sure to keep it together as you slide it all over the bar, with the base of the inner sleeve last to slide on so it is held by the retaining nut. I may add a video clip showing this. I realized afterwards that I could have made it without an inner sleeve, allowing the rollers to roll directly on the spool bar. If your filament spools have a smaller central hole, the outer sleeve diameter can be reduced without making the rollers too small by getting rid of the inner sleeve. This thing was created with Tinkercad. Edit it online https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9KZBxQ1V4kT