YAFG - Yet Another Filament Guide

There is quite literally a pantheon of filament guides to choose from out there, so why did I create another? That is a fantastic question.

So what do I think makes this one different? Well...

1. It's intended to work with the OEM spool holder.
2. The guide itself is intentionally close to the spools which seems to help minimize movements that could cause the filament to jump off the spool.
3. It prints with a minimum of material.
4. It's lightweight.
5. It doesn't take that long to print.
6. It completely clears the extruder when it's at the upper limit.
7. It's a very snug fit, making it feel rather sturdy.
8. I designed it to be able to use an M3 size cap screw and nut to add additional clamping force.
9. It has an optional piece you can use to keep it from slipping off if you don't wish to add the fastener (I actually use it myself).

Optional Hardware

• M3 x 20 (or longer) cap head screw with washer and nut.

This installs with the "A" glyph facing down. If you use the hardware fastener it's designed for, you'll be able to tell where the nut goes. The cap head screw and washer are thus on the opposite side. I added this thinking it would help really sturdy it up, but in reality the tolerances made for a snug fit without that.

The optional, snap-in part is intended to retain the guide from the back of the support beam. This is directional so if it doesn't snap in nicely in one direction, flip it over and try the other way. In my case there's a really satisfying click when it locates correctly.

Print instructions

I printed mine in Clear PETG, and I used supports which is how the Print File is setup. However, the supports really make cleaning out the truss work a chore, and I bet even PETG could handle the spans without the support material.

So even though I haven't tested it, I'm betting this can all be printed without supports.