Dry box bracket for 1.5" PVC with press fit washer mount (SAE hardware)

thingiverse

This is a bracket designed specifically for holding a section of 1.5" pipe within a plastic dry box, allowing you to suspend your filament reels securely in place. Unlike other similar designs, this one does not reuse any parts from Stefan's original mesh design; instead, I created it entirely from scratch, inspired by his innovative concept. There are two key advantages that set this bracket apart from others on the market. First, its unique design allows you to press-fit a 3/4" washer for added strength, spreading the load across more of the plastic that makes up the bracket and (likely) your dry box as well. This helps prevent damage or wear over time. Second, the bolt placement in this bracket is strategically designed to spread the load further apart on the dry box's walls, providing additional stability and support. This design also includes three additional components that you may find particularly useful. One of these is a nut for larger thread bowden connectors - these can be difficult to source in the US, or expensive if you do manage to find them. Even if you're able to locate one, printing the nut yourself can be beneficial, as it eliminates the chamfer at the surface where threads start immediately, making it easier to engage steel nuts with your bowden connector. [*Added 2019-11-14:* A small nut is now included in this design for smaller bowden connectors. I use these as the "lower" connector on my dry boxes, which allows me to park the filament back inside the box when it's not in use. The larger connectors are used up top to prevent rubbing against the filament side of the connector while feeding.] Another useful component included in this design is a spacer that can be placed on your 1.5" PVC pipe to keep reels from rubbing against each other. I highly recommend using this, as if they do catch, one reel being used can cause an unused reel to unwind, leading to tangled filament. You can also use it between a reel and the bracket to provide additional space and prevent reels from rubbing against any hardware used to attach the bracket. Lastly, there's a plug you can print out to put in your lower bowden connector when removing the PTFE tube for printing purposes. Be sure to insert only the smooth side of the plug into the connector, and use it exclusively with smaller thread bowden connectors (normally screwed into the extruder side) as this will prevent pushing it too far.