Spool Cover for Enclosures with optional desiccant canisters

thingiverse

I designed this cover after leaving a spool of filament on my IKEA Lack printer enclosure's cover for several weeks while I was away working. Upon returning, I found the PETG spool had deteriorated somewhat due to moisture absorption from surrounding air. The cover is intended to be made from 4mm acrylic sheet and features a simple drop-over design, hopefully protecting the spool from temperature and humidity fluctuations in ambient air. Adding desiccant inside the cover may maintain low relative humidity if required. The framework is designed to accommodate my IKEA Lack mounted spool holder, which sits on the lid of my printer enclosure (see photo). The cover dimensions are 272 x 224 x 280mm (X, Y & Z). Update. I've assembled the cover and uploaded a photo of the completed project. Acrylic sheet was purchased from Simply Plastics (https://www.simplyplastics.com/catalog/sheet/extruded-acrylic-sheet/c-24/c-84) for just over £20 in the UK. It was cut accurately to the above dimensions, and I highly recommend these people. Looking at the cover on my Lack printer, it needs some finishing touches, so I'm thinking of designing a base trim to go around the lower edge where it sits. I'm also considering adding desiccant holders to fit inside the frame, possibly modifying the two corner frames behind the spool holder and creating a locating frame for neat placement on the Lack. Update. Desiccant canisters have been designed and built using the same mounting holes as the original vertical frame members, so if you've already constructed one of these covers, they should fit easily. The 20mm holes in the sides allow desiccant color to be seen and permit reactivation when necessary. The canisters are charged and emptied of desiccant via a threaded plug in the base, which is removed using an 8mm Allen key. Update. I've modified the desiccant fill plug (V2.1) as the hexagonal hole was too tight to fit the Allen key. It now features a 4.2mm radius Hexagon that fits perfectly with my printed parts when printed. The old model file is still available (V2.0), in case others have different tolerances with their printers. Update. I've added a funnel after becoming fed up with vacuuming up small orange balls of silica gel from the floor each time I changed out the desiccant. It screws into place where the plug goes to aid filling and prevent unnecessary vacuuming. Print the funnel upside down, as no support is needed.