1kg plastic spool adapter for the Filament Spindle MK1 Box

thingiverse

Do you have a lonely Filament Spindle MK1 Box sitting under your printer recently antiquated by the nifty new 1kg platic spools that Makerbot is now selling? Me too ... so I set about creating an adapter that would allow the FSMK1B to use the new spools. My situation was complicated by the fact that I had partially destroyed my FSMK1B trying to reload it with the second batch of plastic that I had bought for my printer (this was the old 5LB style). In my adapter design I tried to address several of the things that made me want to pull my hair out about the FSMK1B original design : 1.) The whole flange assembly (the round disks holding the plastic) had to be removed from the box to add more plastic. 2.) The top flange of the spindle was almost impossible to attach. 3.) The top flange was held in using screws instead of a quick release latch. 4.) The spokes seemed a bit flimsy and were difficult to screw together. Instructions 1.) Print out two copies the adapter brackets. Face them back to back and screw them together with two 12mm socket screws. 2.) Print out the adapter strut and insert it into the socket in the brackets. Secure the adapter strut to the adapter brackets using two 12mm socket screws ( one on either side of the base). 3.) Remove the bottom flange from the FSMK1B (link to the FSMK1B instructions http://wiki.makerbot.com/spindle-mk1-assembly for terminology reference). Remove the FSMK1B struts and top flange (they are to be discarded). Attach the adapter brackets to the bottom flange using the same holes that are used to attach the turntable to the flange (not the strut holes). The turntable should also be attached to the bottom flange. 4.) Attach the bottom flange to the FSMK1B. 5.) Put the 1kg plastic filament spindle onto the adapter strut. Make sure that the side of the 1kg spindle with the recessed center is facing up. 6.) Print one copy of the adapter lid and use it to secure the spindle to the adapter. The coupling is done using a latching mechanism, so there aren't any screws necessary. Note that the adapter lid is keyed so that it will fit into the grooves on the spool ... it may be necessary to rotate the spool a little bit to get the lid to fit properly. 7.) To release the spindle squeeze the two parts of the latch on the adapter strut together and gently pull up on the spindle. NOTE : The modeling was done in Blender 2.5 and I've included the source blend file ('spindle case upgrade.blend' in the files section) to make it easier to tweak the design. The units in blend file are in inches.