This is a spool holder designed from scratch in OnShape

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/b18e4a474be7623d179a2956/w/786bb42a3f491a7321bdce8a/e/8b936b587468885eb7ab803d

See companion thing: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2543550

Inspired by: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:914117

The holder is designed to hold 1kg spools with small (30mm) or large diameters, with a length of up to 100mm. Obviously it can be reconfigured via the OnShape link.

This is part of a design I've been working on, that allows easy printing of 3D spool holders and bases. These connect via a T-Slot and have a base that snaps to the printer and a holder.

Features:

• holds 1kg spools, thin or thick, might go up to 2kg (not thoroughly tested)
• "quick-change" spool design
• only the bare minimum material required, so it prints fast
• designed 'with-grain' instead of 'across-the-grain' so it reduces breakage
• no support or raft required
• plenty of clearance but has retainer washers built-in
• modular

Instructions:

Printed with 15-20% infill, PLA, no support or raft.

You need the matching clamp and [high optional) a spacer for thinner spools.

You can customize it by going to the OnShape link or asking be here.

Customizing:

Edir "holder thin and deep sketch" dimensions to alter the base shape. It might be renamed by the time you read this, but it's one of the first sketches in the OnShape timeline.

The base height and depth can be customized (for snapping onto different 3D printer features), more details on that in the clamp/base design.

Design notes - boring read:

Most of the holders I've come across so far were printed across-the-grain, so the shearing stresses would break PLA easily. Especially with a full filament spool. On top of that, the spool holder often had supports (for the top spacer) and required a large height to be printed, almost impossible to do without cooling.

This design mitigates most problems by separating the spool holder and its base into two easily printable parts. You are looking at the spool [filament] holder part. This mates with a "clamp" by using a T-Slot.

The T-Slot is engineered to have an upwards angle to it (+3 deg), since printed parts are flexible and the spool would bog down otherwise. A higher angle would cause the filament to wind down against the base when the spool is getting empty.

The T-slot is engineered to have plenty of clearance for an easy slide-fit. A lot of the designs seen on Thingiverse don't take clearance into account, making it impossible to fit parts together without breaking them.

The holder has a lip at both ends, to keep the spool from sliding out or drag against the base [clamp].

Material use has been kept at a minimum, it can probably be reduced even more but I'm allowing for printer quality variance (i.e. incompletely adhered walls).

I've tried to keep the combined depth of the spool lip + base [clamp] to a minimum to avoid overhang, but haven't made structural calculations to see if it can be reduced even more. By reducing depth (distance between spool wall and printer wall) the integrity will also be reduced and I prioritized safety against minimalism.

Last but not least, I print my parts on a heated bed, at 80C, which also cures PLA. This makes parts stronger, so if you are printing without a HPB the parts might be under-dimensioned.

Category: 3D Printer Accessories