horizontal filament spool holder - ball-bearing filament spool holder

thingiverse

I designed this horizontal filament spool holder to replace the vertical out-of-the-box solution on my ANET A8 Printer, which often proves inadequate. This solution works like a ball-bearing, where the spool is simply placed on the cone. The extruder requires less power to unwind the filament because it no longer has to work against gravity's pull. In addition, chucking the spool to center is now unnecessary, and the power needed to unwind remains consistent. To assemble this device, you will need the printed parts and nine marbles with an outer diameter of approximately 16mm. Both glass and metal marbles should function effectively. UPDATE: I have also added a printable ~16mm bearing ball. This component can be printed using a 0.1 layer height, 30% infill, support (45° support angle), and brim. I strongly recommend utilizing glass or metal marbles; however, the printable one should still work adequately. P.S. The print result images shown are from an earlier version of this design. The version released here contains minor improvements, such as a central axis to ensure correct alignment.