3D Filament Storage/Holder In situ

thingiverse

So far, I have not had problems with moisture as I print with PLA+ only. However, I keep my spool on the 3D printer till I have to change it to another color. I store my used spools in a plastic cake container with silica gel when not in use. Since the Australian summer is not far away and the humidity will rise soon I decided to make this hybrid spool storage container and holder that can stay attached to the printer. I made this is specifically for the Cocoon Create Touch, a Wanhao duplicator i3 plus clone but it can be easily modified for other printers where it can be placed elsewhere as a standalone with only slight modification. I designed the Cocoon Create Touch spool holder as the one that comes with the machine is not tall enough for the cake container. Material you will need in addition to the printed parts are: - Plastic cake container (4 Lt, internal diameter 26.5 cm x height 8.5 cm)- my brand name was Quadrant-from a $2 shop) - Screws 4Gx20 mm - Screws 4Gx15 mm - Screws 4Gx 9 mm - File - Drill- for the hole for filament to come through. For other holes using a screw will negate the use of a drill. If screws are protruding a bit please file it. Placement of U-shaped cradles- These can be placed accurately in the middle by aligning the circles in the center of the bottom and lid of the cake container. Using a light facilitates this alignment. Note that the inside hole of the part where the filament comes out is bigger to minimize friction. This part should be placed last as the placement will depend on any filament guides you are using on your machine. Please assemble the bottom half of container with the spool and try out the potential site of exit to see if there any resistance and then do the attachment. I have printed a screw on lid that can be used when the filament is not in use. Simply bend the filament to a u-shape and insert into the hole on the side of the one that filament comes through and screw the lid. I have made some holes in the middle tube that holds the spool and allows the spool to spin. This is so that you can keep your silica gel desiccant inside to maintain low humidity. It is possible that the lid may come loose over time from opening and closing in that case you could use some tape or a clip to prevent opening. Remember the cake container should not rotate only the spool inside. Addendum: I realized that I did not upload the inner tube with holes and uploaded it. Also uploaded 2 types of clips that could be used to prevent the container cover from becoming loose by wear and tear over time or to further reinforce lid.