Since I don’t have space for a standard spool holder and even for any vertical spool holder,
i have used or rather tried to use horizontal spool holders.
I have used multiple types from this website.
E.g. i have used this one:
https://www.printables.com/model/77871-lazy-suzanneturntable-horizontal-spool-holder
At first glance, it seemed fine, but issues arose during real use. The filament could drop down and even get stuck underneath! Not to mention the challenging screw assembly ;-)
So, I designed my own horizontal spool holder.
Differences from other horizontal spool holders:
- No screws or nuts required: The assembly only needs one 608ZZ (8x22x7) bearing.
- It have central spool latch mechanism which center the spool and it do not dance then ;-)
- It have protective mechanics (vertical pillars) to prevent filament drop down below the horizontal spool holder, It cannot be stuck underneath. The pillars position is regulated.
- The pillars contain filament guide (you can use it or not). There are right guide pillars and left guide. So you can use it in any direction.
- It have dual protection for filament drop down, the vertical pillars are movable to catch any producer of filament sized spools (1kg or less). On one of the photo you can see second drop protection. It is achieved by short filament inserted to small holes into the vertical pillars. It is for situation when the spool is bent and bad quality, or simply when the first method do not work properly for you.
- Tested it self during 2 months without any issues. This is most important point :)
I suppose many of the horizontal spools on this website was not tested self by the authors…
Printing
Print without supports with PETG. I have attached 3mf file so you can split the print time by printing parts separatelly. Look at modifiers as they are required to have not problems with usage and strenghten.
Mounting
- Do not try to insert bearing into the stand, do this in opposite direction. Place bearing on the flat surface e.g. table. Put the stand on top of the bearing and press the stand down. But press central part of the stand not the legs, to not broke them.
- Tilt pillar and insert it in the center of the hole. Regulate its position after spool insertion (it is a little hard to move, but it must be hard). The pillars should not touch the spool but the distance should be less than filament diameter, to protect dropping down.
- Insert HorizontalSpoolJoin into the bearing or into the HorizontalSpoolCatch. Look at shape of the join, it have one side different to go into HorizontalSpoolCatch.
- Mount HorizontalSpoolCatch on the HorizontalSpoolJoin.
- If your spoll is bad quality (bent) insert also a piece of filament into small holes in the vertical pillars.
- Now you are ready to insert your spool onto horizontal spool holder.
- If you need to remove the spool press center part of the catch and pull the spool up. This is required especially for prusament spool as it have empty space and the catch is strong.
Funny thing
It looks like an orbital defense system from a sci-fi movie ;-)
UPDATE
2023-02-10 Added model with more clerance for the bearing as some user say it is too thight for him.