spool holder

thingiverse

I recently received my 3D printer along with a spool holder that I believe could be improved even if just a little bit. My printer came with a filament spool featuring a 55mm hub, and later I bought two Hatchbox rolls with 30mm hubs. When printing, these roll on an 8mm rod. This is my attempt at creating a spool holder for both. I initially tried using a bearing but it failed due to the bearing lacking a cage built in. After that, I designed one with a cage; however, the cage was too close to the inner and outer races so it bonded during print. Back to the drawing board. UPDATES: 11/9 - Edit 1: Uploaded version 4 of bearing. This should solve the original cage problem. Edit 2: I noticed a hiccup in Repetier where the cage has a section that will still bond, therefore, I do not recommend printing this yet. I am currently redesigning the bearing itself. Edit 3: I have uploaded spool holder version 3 with edited internals to prevent contact with the inner bearing race. Final edit uploaded bearing version 5 - much less plastic but hopefully works! 11/10 - Still haven't been home, but I just want to make it clear on the specs and how to use this. I recommend using an 8mm threaded rod - maybe a 135-145mm length (I'm currently using 125mm). You may need the extra length for the 30mm hubs. The bearing-less version features a 9mm pilot hole purposely meant to allow it to float on the shaft - I recommend using washers on each side and maybe a lock nut setup if possible, to hold it in place. The bearing version on the other hand..... you may need to experiment with currently up to date is the v5 bearing and the v3 spool holder. I have not had time to print this so all this is untested except for bearing versions 1 2 and 3 which were, for the most part, failures. Version 1 and 2 had problems where the actual ball bearings would group together causing friction, aaaaand version 3 the cage designed to prevent such issue bonded with the inner and outer race, making it one solid piece. Version 4 had an issue where the bearing separator of the cage still bonded with the inner race at least in Repetier-Host which made me redesign the bearing to allow more space between the inner and outer races. In theory, all I was going to use is the same lock nut setup mentioned up top. The i made the inner race pilot hole exactly 8mm to allow some friction with the shaft. This will ensure the bearing operates properly. Upload pics if you try; I'd like to see them! Any suggestions - please let me know in the comments or pm me; I'm all ears!