Ender 3 Filament Holder Bracket - Gets Real

thingiverse

TL;DR: A printable mount that solves problems by attaching the stock metal filament holder bracket to the side of the Ender 3's left lower rail. You'll need: * 4x m4 T-nuts * 2x m4 hex nuts * 6x m4x20 screws Works well with Filament Filler, compatible with johnniewhiskey's cable chain. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3020026 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060 Known issues: The slots of the m4 hex nuts are a bit tight; you might need to file them down or use a hammer and screwdriver to get them started. Frustration with other similar items on Thingiverse: I had a hard time finding a filament spool holder that worked as I wanted it to. Due to space constraints, I didn't want to mount it on top; I wanted it on the side for a straight shot into the extruder. Many easy-to-print brackets are available on Thingiverse, but they all have problems. If it mounts to the top of the side rail, it gets in the way of cable chains, so that's out. The "uses hardware that came with the machine" solutions aren't great; keys that slot into rails can break off or require a hammer. They also allow the filament spool to rub against the X axis motor. All of them made it hard to get the filament spool on and off the holder when the Z axis is at the bottom of its travel. One even dragged on the bench top. So I designed a filament holder bracket mount that mounts to the side of the rail, holds the spool far enough from the X axis motor, and allows for easy spool changes. It's built like a brick house and requires a trip to the hardware store. It mounts to the frame with four m4x20 screws and uses four m4 T-nuts. The stock Ender 3 metal bracket attaches to the other end with at least two m4 screws, 15mm long or longer. You'll also need four m4 nuts that use a 7mm wrench because of the hole size. I used 4mm screws instead of 5mm to allow for play in the joint and prevent the metal bracket from flexing too much under the weight of the spool. I printed it at 25% infill, .28mm layer height, and 90 grams of filament took ~6 hours to print.