Filament Roller IR Sensor Version 1

thingiverse

Addendum (2017/01/23): A Kickstarter campaign is live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/522476987/filament-roller Make a donation and receive a finished Filament Roller. Thanks for your support. Addendum (2016/11/13): If you have a printer that can print 12x16 or larger, visit version 2 of this thing at: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1888159. Thanks! Addendum (2016/11/27): If you want an inline roller that you can position closer to your extruder separate from your spool, visit version 3 of this thing at: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1904929. Thanks! Are you tired of nozzle clogs? Jamming? Filament grinding? Motor stalling? Tired of babysitting your printer, making sure it doesn't stop feeding filament? This prototype Filament Roller can detect direction and speed of the filament spool using zero-friction optical IR sensors. If the spool rolls too slowly or stops, the board emits an alarm. This early-alert prevents you from losing your print, and gives you a chance to pause your print before it's too late. Or, without the board, you can use it like a regular low-friction filament roller. Required parts: * 608 ball bearings (4 ea) * M3 x 12 mm screws (22 ea) * M3 x 18 mm screws (2 ea) * M3 nuts (24 ea) * M5 x 30 mm screws (4 ea) * M5 washers (4 ea) * M5 nuts (4 ea) Optional parts: * Filament Roller control board (1 ea) * Small rubber bands (~16 ea) * Large rubber bands (4 ea) Required printed parts: * Base part 1 (2 ea) * Base part 2 (2 ea) * Basic pylon (3 ea) * Pcb pylon (1 ea) * Pcb pylon foot (1 ea) * Roller (any slot# combo) (4 ea) * Tensioner (1 ea) Addendum: I hope to start a Kickstarter campaign to get the board manufactured. I will update this page with more details as they occur. For more information on this project, check out: http://www.filamentroller.com/ For information on how this device works, check out: http://www.filamentroller.com/how-it-works/ A limited number of samples are available for purchase: https://www.etsy.com/listing/469008294/filament-roller-with-optical-sensor-and?ref=shop_home_active_1 Print Settings: Printer: * Model: * Material: * Layer height: For optimal results, print the rollers with a high level of detail. Design: I used OpenSCAD to design the printed parts for this project. The source files are uploaded as well.