the best spool holder in the world

prusaprinters

...well, perhaps the title promises too much - but since I have your attention, let me explain why this is among the better printable spool holders around:Over the years my annoyance over one of my first designs - a simple spool holder (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2136555) - grew with every spool change; up to that point that I started using filament that's not suited best for one specific application, just because changing spools would cause too much effort. Instead of working on my attitude regarding what must be a new pinnacle of laziness, I spent some time in modeling a spool holder that really fits my needs. Which are as follows:) fast-swap spools without twisting knobs with lock-nuts for minutes on a threaded screw) no threaded screws or bearings) must fit small (<1kg) and big (>2kg) spools) centered pivot) 20mm and 50-60mm spool-hole diameter) minimal friction) located inside the print chamber to keep filament dry) maybe a spring?So a ratchet design holder was born, which uses one of your old printers 8mm (200mm long in this case) rails as a pivoting point. In order to keep everything free of unnecessary friction and bearings, I printed the spool holder parts in nylon which is good enough even for a flimsy direct drive. Some PETG or any other material will probably be ok too.Why that awkwardly and definitely not optimal shaped stationary part? Well. I like the looks, I guess. It's supposed to be wall-hang-mounted with 4x M3-ish countersunk plastite screws. Oh, and you'll also need 2 M3x6 screws for attaching the stick-part into the cone-part. Or some glue. As you like.BTW: accidentally the new spool holder (rotating part) perfectly also fits my old and dumb spool holder (stationary part), so it's more universal than I actually intended.Print SettingsPrinter Brand:WanhaoPrinter: Duplicator9Rafts:NoSupports: YesResolution:150Infill: 20Filament: Lehmann & Voss, Fillamentum PA HT, CPE HG100 natural, raspberry red translucent Notes: I opted for some temperature-resistant materials (PA-HT in white and CPE HG100 in red) because It's located inside the print chamber which can get quite hot by times.That stick-like thing is the only part which really benefits from printing in a fine resolution and a slippery material.The spring part also should be printed in nylon, more because of it's flexibility. The material I was using has a perfect balance of stiffness and springiness; I made some prior tests with PETG which have shown that the springs wears out/creep when pressing the lever too hard. That didn't yet happen with PA HT. Inserting the spring can be a bit cumbersome, so make sure to remove every tiny bit of support in the cone-part and maybe print the spring the some negative horizontal expansion (e.g. -0.2mm in cura).Print orientations really matter for this thing and getting them right is a requirement for everything to operate smoothly. I've added a screenshot from cura with orientation suggestions.edit: I updated that holder part (gray part in background) to something a bit more rigid. Less wobble, more used filament. Category: 3D Printer Accessories