Ball Bearing Spool Stand

12/18/21 Update: Fixed off center screw hole of the Standard Roller Screw. Deleted RollerScrewV3.stl and added RollerScrewV4.stl

Update: Found that screw hole of Large Roller Screw was off center. Corrected and updated stl file.

Update: In response to a user request I've added an enlarged spool stand for a 300 x 100 mm spool. I have not tested this enlarged design, so consider it a Work-In-Progress.

Printing with spools of heavy filament necessitated designing this hanger. My first design, a "Spool Roller," work very well initially. But, as the filament roll diameter decreased, the additional torque required to turn the spool started to cause feed problems. What I needed was a holder that kept rotational resistance at a minimum.

This spool hanger uses either a ball bearing roller or a ball bearing threaded roller with conical retainers to center the rotational axis of the spool. I found that with heavy spools (3Kg) the conical retainers was what I needed.

The retainers can center spools with hub diameters from 60 to 50 mm.

Parts required to complete:

• 2 M6 x 16mm screws
• 2 626 Bearings

Note: The bearing specs are:

• OD of 19mm
• ID of 6mm
• Thickness of 6mm

Print Settings

Printer:

Anycubic Kossel Delta Plus

Rafts:

No

Supports:

No

Resolution:

.3

Infill:

30%

Filament:

3D Solutech PLA

Whatever color you like.

Notes:

Print as oriented in the stl's. Except for the side "A" frames, no supports are necessary.

To print the large spool stand print the stl's that begin with "Large\_"

Also print the two retainer and two washers.

Note: The large spool stand is a large print.

Post-Printing

The rollers screw holes have a light threading that will aid in starting and aligning the screws. The screw cuts part of the thread itself. Prior to final assembly screw in the screws to cut the threads and then clean off any plastic bits.

Insert the side legs into the base and glue. I used Bondini BX3 Cyanoacrylate glue.

How I Designed This

I found that printing with a heavy filament presents a major challenge.

• Due to excessive drag on non-ball bearing holders, inconsistent extrusion causes layer gaps.
• I designed a spool roller that worked until the filament roll diameter decreased and caused excessive tension because of the increased torque to turn the spool.
• I designed a spool hanger that hung the spool from a ball bearing rolller; which, didn't work due to the spool swinging and causing inconsistent extrusion.
• I redesigned the hanger to use a threaded roller with conical retainers to center the spool's rotational axis.

Category: 3D Printer Accessories