MakerBot Replicator 5G/Mini/Z18 - 1kg Filament spool holder

thingiverse

1kg MakerBot filament spool holder for 5th Generation MakerBots by admg consultancy This will work on the 5th Generation Replicator, the Z18 and the Mini. It allows use of MakerBot 1kg filament spools, while retaining the captured filament guide tube which is essential for reliable printing. The guide tube can be up to 6mm outside diameter (OD). This is a from-scratch design in OpenSCAD that I made to give greater flexibility to use 1kg MakerBot PLA spools on the 5th Generation MakerBots. Not intended for use with generic PLA, flexible filament, ABS, strimmer wire... Credits: 1) It makes use of v1.4 of Dan Kirshner's excellent OpenSCAD thread library - http://dkprojects.net/openscad-threads/threads.scad 2) Also br3ttb's MakerBot M logo in OpenSCAD form: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11105 Enjoy - and please post any feedback you may have. UPDATED FILES 22 March 2015: The tolerances on the threads have been improved to allow for a snug fit with minimal cleanup on a standard print. UPDATE 26 March 2015: Included a 6mm OD tube to Replicator 5G/Mini extruder adapter, to allow use of 6mmOD, 4mm ID PTFE tube. This is pretty basic, I have begun a design that grips more solidly to the extruder, but this does the job in the meantime. UPDATE 01 May 2015: Reworked the spool holder to reduce the radius slightly to match tolerances on some spools, and add the option to tightly grip filament guide tubes with outside diameter 4mm. Also updated the smart extruder - 6mm guide tube adapter to improve fit. This is not suitable for use with Z18 smart extruders with swivel top clip - instead use the Z18's existing guide tube. Instructions 1) Print all 3 .makerbot files. They are sliced at 0.2mm (200micron) layer height. They look great in True Black or True Red. The retainer is optimised to print logo face down so that you can use a contrasting colour for the logo - if you want to match your machine, start in MakerBot True Red and pause after 0.5mm and reload with True Black filament. Some 1kg reels are wound clockwise and some anti-clockwise - the spacer is to allow you to use either. 2) Add filament guide tube This is optimised for 6mm OD (Outside diameter), 4mm ID (Inside diameter) PTFE tube. Or you can use the existing filament guide tube.