Makerbot Plastic Spool Holder (w/Bearing)

thingiverse

Like other makerbotters I am obsessed with free flowing plastic. I got a 16 pack of bearings and started designing. This spool holder works with the type of spools of plastic that MakerBot sells. Other things my design takes advantage of: Parameterized printable spring http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:21234 Makerbot 1 kg Spool Holder Mashup http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10463 Instructions Print off 2 spool holders. Slip in a bearing into each holder. According to the package the bearings are ABEC 5. I think they are also called 608 bearings. I got them in the inline skating section of a sporting goods store. Go to your local hardware store and find a threaded bolt long enough to hold the spool. I previously had the Makerbot 1 kg Spool Holder Mashup. I ABS glued the two parts together, cut off the part that held the spool, drilled a hole through where I wanted the bold to go through. And assembled as shown in the picture. I then used the Parameterized printable spring to hold the bearing into it's holder by printing off a spring long enough to fit inside the spool on the bolt. I then printed off some smaller springs to keep the spool positioned on the bolt.