Prusa i3 MK2 Filament Holder and optional Filament Guide

thingiverse

Update 30 March 2018 - Added a STEP file to the download. ------------- Update 23rd October 2017 - I've re-vamped this spool holder so there's now only one version that fits all spools. The spool pole itself has been made thicker (28mm) but the end ball has been replaced with a 'spool stop' which can be clipped on/off. This allows spools with small holes to be used. ------------- I designed this type of holder because I wanted to quickly change spools safely. The stock ones aren't very safe and the ones that allow you to balance the spool on top are also not ideal as there's a chance of knocking the spool off. I've tested the strength of this holder with 35% infill and had to put most of my body weight onto it before it broke, so 1KG filament spools aren't a problem. However, it does depend on the quality of your prints. Note that this test was done on the older version which was 25mm thick; this new one is 28mm thick. The filament guide clips into place and can be reversed when not needed. I've also added a split in the guide so the filament can be removed/placed inside the guide at any time during a print without having to break the filament. This guide is also reversible, making it easy to store away when it's not needed. The filament guide only needs to be used for problem spools that unravel or when you use sample filament that doesn't have a spool. When printing very tall objects, this particular filament guide won't work well; I'm designing a wider one to solve this problem and it will clip onto this existing spool holder. The 'loose spool keep' is for using loose filament that's not on a reel. The keep stops it falling off the spool holder and works until the end of the filament is reached.