Improved Spool Holder for the Original Prusa i3 MK2

thingiverse

If you have a Original Prusa i3 MK2 like mine you love it for sure, BUT (in my opinion) the spool holder is really not good at all, it is difficult to adjust and set up. So I've decided to create my own which can accomodate any type of spools and changhing filament can't be easier :-). In the folder you will download I've included some typical CAD format so if you like you can modify to your needs. If you like you can whatch this video where I show how I did it: https://youtu.be/ehwsGeesCF0 (italian version) P.S.: in the download file you will find the FEA Report so you can watch it and see all the stresses and the forces and how they act on the model and also a PDF with the dimensions of the spool holder UPGRADED VERSION 3.0: I have pubblished an upgrade to this design which is a bit bigger, but since it is optimized to be printed with 0.3 mm layer height instead of 0.2 mm the time it takes to print is not so much longer than before. By having it bigger I've managed to reduce significantly the deflection in the arm and by optimizing the dimension to be printed with 0.3mm layer height is also noticebly sturdier than before. P.S.: If you print one I will be delighted if you post a photo of your print on this page. If you have any problem just write it in the comment and I'll try to figure it out :-) Print Settings Printer Brand: Prusa Printer: Prusa Mk2 Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.3 mm for the UPGRADED (3.0) version 0.2 mm for the OLDER (2.0) version Infill: not less than 20% Notes: With theese settings: Print time: 4h Filament lenght: 33615.7 mm or 33.6157 m Plastic weight: 101.07g NOTICE: It is possible to print it with no support material what so ever since the overhang is very small, but that may result in a not great quality on the final part of the arm. If you choose to print it without support I reccomend to file down with some sand paper the rough part left by the printer where the overhang is. It doesn't have to be pretty since this is mostly a functional print. PS: The stl file shuold be already positioning in order to minimaze the support material. My advice is to not change the orientation of the stl file once imported in the slicer. How I Designed This I've designed it in Autodesk Fusion 360 I've gone throw some design changes but this it's really great because it is really optimized with a lot of FEA studies. Just to give you an idea i've applied 20N of force on the arm (2 times the force it has to overcome because a typical spool weights around 10N or 1Kg) and it was still showing a minimum safety factor of 11.38 so you can be absolutely sure that with 1 kg spool it will never break and it doesn't require a ton of plastic to print:-) It's a really simple design with just 4 extrusion and a lot of fillets. In the zip file you will download you will find the CAD model so you can modify it if you like. Complete assembly in Fusion 360 Here you can see the stresses acting on the model. If you are interested check out the " Study_Report_Spool_holder_3.0_UPGRADED.html" in the files you will download for a complete FEA study Italian Version REVIEW of this project CHEP Review