Filament pulley

thingiverse

Because I refuse to have my spool holder cluttering up the floor, and because my mischievous cat has managed to cut the filament twice while attempting to climb my printer, I built the spool holder from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:454808, along with the filament guide from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2042351. You may see in the picture of the top of my printer these two pieces prominently displayed. All descriptions suggest that I should invert the filament feeder stepper, but I'm not willing to take that route. So, I decided to build a bracket, an axis, and a pulley to change the direction of the filament. This design is intended to be attached using two M4 by 10 screws and two T-nuts. There's a picture of the installed set in this thing, showcasing its functionality. Then, I discovered that I was out of M4x10 screws and didn't feel like making a trip to the hardware store, so I printed a supplement that would fill the gap and also increase the resistance of the bracket. There's definitely room for improvement, and it's surprisingly easy to do. For instance: 1) Changing the angle of the pulley so it moves away from the printer carriage would allow me to put the pulley closer to the stepper motor. 2) Reducing the length of the extender arm would make the filament route straighter. 3) Increasing the diameter of the pulley would give the filament the clearance it needs – at least, 4cm more in diameter, as you can see from the picture. 4) Changing the holes in the pulley to straight radiuses instead of circles would be a great improvement. I tried to save time by filling in the blanks between the circles, but it ended up being too time-consuming. Five or six straight radiuses would be better. 5) The axis is pressed into the bracket hole and holds fine, even with a m2 screw inserted into a hole that's slightly too long. I hope you like this design, and I encourage you to make it. Either way, thank you for taking the time to read.