Silent wheels for the Prusa IKEA Lack Enclosure Spool Holder

thingiverse

After completing the Prusa Lack enclosure from https://www.prusaprinters.org/cheap-simple-3d-printer-enclosure/, I printed out the adjustable spool holder from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2867521, which is a truly ingenious idea for the lack enclosure itself. However, the noise of the spools scratching against the non-spinning wheels was quite distracting. (Check out this video - the original wheel isn't moving at all.) So I swapped out the axles and wheel with a ball bearing (8x22x7) paired up with a printed tread and a matching two-part axle. It fits seamlessly into the holder and operates in complete silence. The treads on these wheels are 9mm wide, featuring a small lip to keep the ball bearing centered. To assemble it, simply slide in a bearing (usually no glue is needed, but that depends on your dimensional accuracy), insert an M3 square nut into the axle part, then put both axle parts into the bearing and screw them together. To ensure smooth operation, consider sanding down the tread first. I used an M3x20 screw with a M3 square nut to assemble the axle itself.