Spool Holder for Flashforge Finder 3

thingiverse

The Flashforge Finder 3 is factory equipped with a fixed spindle attached to the back of the printer. To improve convenience and accessibility, an overhead spool holder has been designed that attaches directly to the left and right edges of the injection molded frame, significantly increasing the ease of use and mobility of the Finder 3. The spool holder employs a gantry-type design in which a 20 mm diameter PVC pipe (schedule 40) adds rigidity to the entire structure. The design readily accommodates up to three 1 kg filament spools which are elevated well above the travel of the cable harness that attaches to the extruder head. A swinging gate, sized to the spool, snaps onto the spool holder rod preventing filament coils from "escaping" the spool, especially important for new spools. The swinging gate also serves to reduce cross tangles by maintaining continuous tension on the filament. Note that standard-size spools use gate.stl; mini spools use gate_mini.stl. The four spool holder components are assembled using M5 machine screws, washers, and nuts (four of each) as shown in the attached photo. When printing each of the two identical bottom sections of the spool holder, rotate the STL file 45 degrees and center on the print bed. Please see https://youtu.be/Mzc-aSn2v7E for a brief video.