Filament Guide for Ender-3 V3 KE and SE Printers

Relocate the spool holder from the top of the printer. Left/Right feed versions and three bearing options.
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updated March 14, 2025

Description

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This design allows you to relocate the filament spool holder from the top frame of your Ender-3 V3 KE or Ender-3 V3 SE printer to a spool holder or filament dryer box located next to the printer. I have included the files to print both a left-side feeding guide and a right-side feeding guide (only the pulley mount and filament guide differ between the left feed/right feed versions.)
This design is based on the Filament Feeder System for Ender-3 V3 KE design by Thorzon.
The primary differences between the original design and this design are the threaded pulley axle, attached filament guide arm, bearing options and the ability to print a left or right feeding version of guide.
 

I added the SE Guide Kit file to this model to allow it to be used with Ender-3 V3 SE printers. The SE Guide is installed on the Pulley Mount in the hole used by the Filament Runout Sensor on the KE and guides the filament from the pulley to the print head. You can attach the SE Guide with the included friction pin or a #4 x 1/2" screw.

You can choose to print a filament guide with a 6000 ball bearing, a 608 ball bearing or no ball bearing at all.

The 6000 Ball Bearing design uses a single 10mm x 26mm x 8mm 6000-2RS ball bearing
To print this version, use the 6000_Bearing Axle, Pulley and Hardware files along with the Pulley_Guard and Pulley_Mount/Filament_Guide_Arm files of your choice.

The 608 Ball Bearing design uses a single 8mm x 22mm x 7mm 608-2RS ball bearing.
To print this version, use the 608_Bearing Axle, Pulley and Hardware files along with the Pulley_Guard and Pulley_Mount/Filament_Guide_Arm files of your choice.

The No Bearing design does not use a ball bearing. 
To print this version, use the No_Bearing Axle, Pulley and Hardware files along with the Pulley_Guard and Pulley_Mount/Filament_Guide_Arm files of your choice. Assemble with the indent on the pulley facing towards the outside, away from the pulley mount.

Printing:
 

I printed this filament guide on a Creality Ender-3 V3 KE using generic PLA filament and the default 0.20mm Standard settings in Creality Print 6.0. 
 

Supports are necessary for printing the axle. I printed the axle standing upright with the short end of the axle on the build plate. In Creality Print 6.0 I used Support Type: Normal(manual) Style: Grid. I included a slightly raised ring on the axle flange to make using the Fill tool in Support Painting easy.
You may also want to print the axle with a Sparse infill density of 100% for strength.
I did not use supports for any of the other parts in this design.

Assembly:
Press the bearing into the front side of the pulley hub opening until it contacts the spacing ring inside the back side of the hub opening. The other parts are assembled onto the axle in this order: Nut - 16mm OD Washer - Stand - Axle - Guard - 16mm OD Washer - Pulley-16mm OD Washer - 32mm OD Washer - Round Nut. See the Detail image for an exploded view of the assembly. I also chased the threads of the axle and nuts to make assembly easier, but this may not be necessary with your prints. The filament guide arm simply presses into the triangular hole in the pulley mount. The entire assembly then mounts to the top frame of the printer using the two screws that were used to attach the filament spool holder and the filament runout sensor mounts to the hole in the pulley mount using screw and bushing provided with it.
 

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Model origin

The author remixed this model.

Differences of the remix compared to the original

I added a left-feed version as well as an integrated filament guide to the mount. The axle has been changed to use threaded nuts to attach it to the base. A version that uses a 608 bearing and a version that does not use a bearing have been added. An additional filament guide has been added to allow the design to work with Ender-3 V3 SE printers.

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