Makerbot Filament Spindle

thingiverse

This is a derivative of the filament spindle made by Erik on Thingiverse. This is designed to operate along side the Makerbot rather then the RepRap. Because the Makerbot Cupcake CNC does not have the same structure that the RepRap does, the original design does not work. By attaching the stand we now have a standard spindle which works with any system. Problems that still need to be addressed: Spindle spins so freely that the filament itself would probably unwind itself slowly. In the future i would like to add a screw that can be tightened which adds friction to the sides. Keeping the spindle from spinning 'too' freely. The Spindle is slightly underweight and with enough lateral force could topple. To address this issue simply attach something heavy to the base. Or add an additional acrylic piece perpendicular to the current stand to increase the base size. Instructions Assembly instructions still to come. I personally cut the M8 rod with Bolt Cutters. Then filed down the ends with, you guessed it, a file. Also it may be preferred to cut the brackets which encapsulate the bearings using thinner acrylic. This will make it weaker but will also make tightening the M8 nuts easier around the bearings. Be sure to play with the files before cutting them out in Acrylic. They may need some clean up after import.