Metal Plus Spool Holder

thingiverse

I had an idea for a spool holder that sits on top of my Printrbot Metal Plus. The printer design is such that you can just set a spool up there, and it pretty much works, but I was worried it might fall over or something. I took the 80mm gap at the top, and used pieces from http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:178862 to create a spool holder that rests on top of my printer and fits into the gap, but uses the bearings instead of just resting on the bare metal. I used a couple 1/4 20 lag bolts to act as spacers, and hold it together. Not bad for a first draft of an idea. This thing was made with Tinkercad. Instructions Print the two halves. I recommend black to go with your awesome looking printer. Press fit the roller bearings onto the posts. This model uses 608ZZ Roller bearings I got for another project. It helps to use a vise to gently press the bearing onto the post. Get a couple 1/4" bolts long enough to fit your spool when inserted through the holes. Slide them through the outer two holds, and loosely tighten the bolts on. You want it just wider than your spool width. If you have different sized spools, you can loosen your bolts, or use longer bolts. Set the assembly on top of your printer. Drop spool on, and feed the filament into your extruder. Make sure the spool spins freely. Print. and feel awesome.