Heavy Duty, Easy Loading Spool Holder for 3D Printers (~30 to ~60mm ID, up to ~200mm OD Spools)

thingiverse

After an exhaustive search on Thingiverse for solutions to hang my spools and load them into the machine, I reached some conclusions: Really fast charging spool holders are simply mast that hold the spool in place. They add some friction to the extruder to contend with, and they tend to drop the spool if something goes wrong. 2. By holding the spool directly into the machine frame, it can be hazardous if the spool is tangled; the spool can fall and drag the entire machine behind it, especially with small machines. Also, the spool (1Kg) exerts excessive pressure on 3D printed parts of the frame, and it also adds unnecessary movements to it, which can cause printing failures. By pulling the filament without a tube guide, if tangled, the spool holder can move relative to the machine. I know these issues are not new. Since I had some spare acrylic sheets from the construction of my Rostock, I decided to design a simple, Threaded rod-based spool holder. With my configuration, up to 2 ESUN3D 1Kg spools can be installed, with separate bearings. Also, by including a Filament guide with a pneumatic 4mm fitting, the spool holder can be attached to a metallic Bowden extruder, with no risk of the spool holder pulling in case of tangled filament. Parts Required: 2 x Spool Bearing (printed) 2 x Spool Knobs (Printed) 2 x Spool Holder cones (Printed) (4x Optional for 2 spools) 1 x Filament Guide (2x Optional for 2 spools) 1 x 1m, M8 x 1.25mm threaded rod (mine is a Stainless Steel rod) 14 x M8 x 1.25 locknuts 12 x M8 washers 2 x 628-2RS Bearings (8mm ID x 24mm OD x 8mm W) (4x optional for 2 spools) 1x M4 pneumatic fitting 1x 4mm OD Teflon tube (spare tube taken from E3D V6 extruder) - Length: separation of the spool holder from the printer. The shorter, the better. 1x 40cm x 200cm, 6mm thick acrylic sheet. (Laser cut parts required) Print Settings Printer: Rostock Mini Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.3mm Infill: 40% Notes: Not Raft required. Supports are required. Some cleaning is required. Printed with White PLA. Works fine. No wear. Post-Printing Assembly Instructions Both bearings and nuts should be fitted by pressure in a vice. 1. Insert the ball bearing into Spool Holders. They're pressure-fitted. Be gentle to avoid part crushing. Insert a M8 x 1.25 lock nut into Spool Knobs. Use a vice to press the nut into the part. Be gentle. Cut the threaded rod into 30cm lengths (or according to your requirements). Clean and file both ends. Insert a Spool bearing as shown in the images, between two locknuts (facing forward). Use washers to prevent part crushing. Tighten gently Thread the pneumatic fitting into the filament guide as shown. 6. Insert locknuts for Filament Guide as shown. Tighten gently. Align the filament guide with the center of the spool. Two or more filament guides can be printed for more spools. Insert internal locknuts, add washers, scraillc sheets, and insert external locknuts (with their washers). Use a ruler to measure alignment of both acrylic sheets (parallelism is a must). In the first threaded rod, insert a spool knob backwards, then a spool holder, the spool, a second spool holder cone, a spool bearing, and a knob. Align both spool bearings into their notches in the acrilyc parts Tighten gently, and you're done. To remove a spool: Loosen the external spool knob. Remove both bearings of the acrilyc base. Unscrew the external spool know. Remove the spool bearing, spool holder, and the spool. Reassemble in the opposite direction.