SeeSaw Spool Holder

myminifactory

The SeeSaw Spool Holder is quite straightforward, really. Essentially, it's a seesaw that works just like the one you probably loved playing on at your local playground as a kid. When a spool of filament is in use, the front end of the "hanger" becomes heavier and falls forward - but when there's no spool of filament, the "hanger" automatically falls back into its closed position due to a clever counterweight that makes the back end heavier. The bracket that holds up the rod is carefully positioned so that the hanger will catch on the front 2x1 piece of wood and stay firmly in place, preventing it from rotating out of its open or closed positions. As an added bonus, the "hanger" can slide smoothly back-and-forth across the shelf, allowing you to position a spool directly above multiple 3D printers located in different areas. For the rod itself, I used a wooden dowel, but spare piping could also be used as a substitute. The diameter of the dowel was .375 inches (about 1 centimeter).