Stand-alone low resistance filament holder

thingiverse

I needed a low-resistance filament holder for my Printrbot Simple Metal that could accommodate a 2kg roll. None of the available holders were large enough for this purpose, and many of them placed the filament directly on the printer itself, but I wanted it to be desk-standing to reduce vibration and not put additional strain on the Z axis. This design is easily printable and requires only 2x 608 bearings (per spool) to create. In addition, changing filament is a breeze: simply lift out the old spool and drop in a new one. To assemble this setup: I printed it on my Printrbot Simple Metal, but had to disable the skirt feature as it barely fits within the build area. I used 0.3mm layer height throughout, and typically use 18% infill. The bar must be relatively strong to prevent sagging, especially with narrower spools. To assemble each filament holder: print one holder, a bar, and pair of spool ends for each spool you wish to swap in. Insert the bearings into the spool ends, then pass the bar through the centre of the spool. Finally, slide the spool ends over the bar so they fit snugly into the spool's ends. I've included STL files for eSun and colorFabb filaments as those are the only makes I have on hand. However, the SCAD file is also provided to allow modification for other brands of filament. Once assembled, the spool should spin freely - in my case, it even rolls and un-rolls as the print head moves across the printed surface.