Prusa Mendel Filament Spool Holder

thingiverse

This impressive filament manager, specifically designed for Prusa Mendel, keeps your spools out of the way above the printer while allowing easy switching between reels and checking remaining filament. The filament itself remains in free air from reel to extruder head, avoiding jams or issues. It's also a great tool for dual extruder printers and can hold 1lb to 5lb standard filament reels. For assembly, you have the option of creating a metric (8mm) or imperial (5/16") version with easier sourcing in the US. To construct it, print filament spool hubs in your desired size, along with a frame vertex. You'll also need a 20" or 50cm length of threaded rod (5/16" or 8mm), eight flat washers (same as above), six regular hex nuts (same as above), and two Nylock nuts (same as above). Nylock nuts feature nylon inserts that secure the nut without a wrench unless forced. Print the necessary parts, bend the threaded rod according to the provided drawing, and attach them to your Prusa Mendel. After mounting the frame vertex, add the horizontal portion of the rod and adjust as needed. Attach the hubs, washers, regular nuts, and Nylock nuts to complete the setup. When selecting hubs, consider various filament spool sizes, including 18.75mm for Taulman's small spools, 38mm for Ultimachine large (5-pound) spools, and 50mm as the most common size used by Makerbot, Ultimachine, and Protoparadigm's 1kg spools. The last hub size (72mm) remains unknown. It's recommended to measure the hole diameter and print the corresponding hub for accuracy.