Universal Spool Guides

thingiverse

I had a couple instances where the filament jumped off the spool and wrapped itself around the holder and kinked up, so I decided to make a spool guide that can prevent this from happening again. There are two guides in the STL file, spaced closely together, which allows them to print a bit faster. I planned to just superglue these to the back of my Flash Forge Creator Pro and Flash Forge Creator X and Replicator 2 but I ended up using one as a test on my Mono Price Select Mini. (See included pictures) It works great! The "eyelet" slips through the "slot" and is removable, while retaining the ability to float back and forth in the slot as it tracks the way the filament is wrapped on the spool. I haven't had any instances of filament hopping off the spool for several weeks now, even after putting nearly 300 hours of use on the printer since installing the guide. It's been thoroughly tested! Printer Settings: Printer: Any printer Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: .1mm Infill: 35% Notes: I do insert supports in the eyelet. It can be printed using any type of filament in any printer. The ones in the pictures were printed on my Flash Forge Creator Pro using Hatchbox Black ABS and then put through the Acetone Vapor Bath, which strengthens the main part a lot and gives it a lustrous finish (which makes it difficult to properly photograph it to show detail). Post-Printing: If you want to do the Acetone Vapor Bath... Find an old scented candle jar that has been used, scrape out any remaining candle wax, place a napkin/paper towel in it leaning up one wall inside the jar. Pour about a cap full of 100% Acetone Nail Polish Remover onto the napkin. Place a piece of aluminum foil onto the napkin and place the part on the foil ensuring it isn't touching the acetone-soaked napkin/paper towel. Put the lid on the jar and set it aside while you're printing other stuff. When it is close to having the sheen you want, remove it gently as the acetone has melted the plastic a bit... That's what you're going for in the first place, but until the acetone evaporates from the part, it is still weak so be careful. Place the part aside and let it sit for an hour or so to completely air out. You'll find that it's 50% (or more) stronger than the freshly-printed part, and very smooth.