Easy 5lb Spooler / Ultimachine 5lb Spooler

thingiverse

This spool doesn't require you to have already printed anything - it just takes a little bit of physical labor. $10 at the hardware store, a hacksaw or dremel, and 15 minutes and you have a TRULY USEFUL spool. This is a perfect way to start your first print with a nice spooler. I've tried a few other simple spools and I've never managed to get anything to work well enough that I felt like I could walk away from my machine during a print. THIS DOES. Instructions 1) Buy this spool. I'm sure you recognize it, it's all over. It usually has a handle and a spool on it, for winding electrical cable. Pop off the handle and throw away the spool. You can truly get it anywhere (picked this one up at my local ACE) but here it is at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYDKO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0026GHL9Y&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1CQKD1DGW6G7DP23NWVB 2) Buy a 5lb roll of PLA from ultimachine.com and pay the extra five bucks for the included spool. It's worth every penny. If you know other suppliers who'll provide plastic like this, let me know. I've got a reel from 2printbeta.de that's similar enough to use with this. 3) Follow the useful visual instructions. Use a hacksaw if you do not have a dremel. In the photos, my first cut is a little shallow; the second one is much better. 4) Put the cut off rings into the opposite side of the spool and push down the top; fit the Utimachine spool in the middle and secure it with some leftover smooth rod, or a wooden dowel, or anything that happens to be handy. 5) (optional) put some clamps on the ends of the rods so it can't slip out -- but it's not likely to slip out anyhow. Secure the plastic rings with a dab of hot glue. PRINTAWAY! This is the FIRST spool I have used that actually despools itself consistently with no intervention.