Horizontal Filament Spinner Roller Thrust Bearing

cults3d

This Customizer generates a thrust bearing (minus the balls) to be used as a horizontal filament spool roller, i.e. a filament spinner. The defaults work great for a Hatchbox (and many other) 1kg spool, and standard 4.5mm BBs, of which the default uses about 26. Supports are required! Printing in the orientation that's generated makes the smoothest surfaces for the ball bearings. The best airtight container I've found for this purpose is the Sistema KLIP IT Bakery Box (about $9 on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001XSNP00/ref=cm_sw_su_dp). The optional stalk that sticks up is specifically to keep the lid from pressing on the spool and causing drag. UPDATE 10/1/2018: I uploaded a working brace to keep the spinner centered in the Sistema box. It expects a 70mm spinner, so make sure spool_hole_diameter+(2*support_flange_extension) = 70 or just under it. I plan to modify one leg to create a space for a desiccant canister. UPDATE 10/7/2018: I uploaded a version of the brace that has a partial ring in the corner for a desiccant container such as the excellent https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2717500. Again, these braces are for use with the Sistema Bakery Box, and not necessary to use the spinner. UPDATE 5/30/2019: I uploaded STLs and SCAD for version v2 that has a narrow (32mm) hub and two raised rings (42mm, 52mm) on the flat of the cap which has a total diameter of 88mm diameter. This should work with multiple sizes of spool holes from 33mm to 87mm. The one with the stalk is for the Sistema box. Here's more explanation of the variables: part_to_generate = 3; // 1=top, 2=bottom, 3=both // SETTINGS VARS spool_hole_diameter = 56; // inside diameter of actual spool hole hub_nub_slop = .5; // how much horizontal space (tolerance) to leave between spinner and spool support_flange_extension = 7; // how much the rim that supports the spool should overlap with the spool bearing_diameter = 4.5; // the size of BBs/marbles/etc. that you will be using bearing_channel_width_slop = .2; // how much wider than the bearing diameter the channel should be bearing_channel_extra_depth = 5; // how deep to make the groove that the bearings sit in, beyond the size of the bearing bearing_tongue_slop = 1; // how much narrower than bearing diameter the part that rides on to of the bearings should be bearing_loading_well_depth = 2; // how much lower the inside of the base is than the outer wall so bearings are easier to load wall_thickness = 1.2; // your slicer setting; used for parts that only need to be (double) walls part_clearance = 1.2; // space to leave between the two pieces so they don't rub container_height = 80; // inside height of the spool container; used for creating support stalk; if set, overall height will equal this stalk_diameter = 15; // size of the part that sticks up solely to keep the container lid from pressing down on spool stalk_slop = .5; // how much space to leave between stalk (which is part of the bottom base) and the edges of the hole in the spinning top part