Prusa I3 Steel filament holder

thingiverse

On a Prusa I3 Steel the filament roll is dragged over a metal strip, see 1st photo right bottom side, and that doesnot roll very well. I replaced it with a cylinder with 2 ball bearings. The outer diameter of the cylinder is 42mm and this may be to much for some of your filament rolls. The FreeCad files are included and can be modified easily. What you need is: a rod 8.0 mm diameter 17 cm long (axis), I used an 8x1 mm aluminium pipe which I already owned. 2 ball bearings 608ZZ (8.0 mm inner diameter, 22.0 mm outer diameter). 4 printed bearing caps. 1 printed cylinder. 2 printed rod-holders (axis-holder). Use 2 printed bearing caps to enclose each of the 608ZZ bearings. Push the enclosed bearing assembly into the printed cylinder (one on each side) until you feel a firm resistance. The enclosed bearing assembly is now entirely in the cylinder + 2 mm more (check left side on the 1st photo). The fit is tight, you do not need glue. The rod/axis-holders slide over the the metal holder arms of the Prusa, again the fit is tight. Slide the 8.0 mm rod through the bearings and put this assembly in the rod-holders. Done. Print Settings Printer Brand: RepRap Printer: Prusa I3 Steel Rafts: Yes Supports: Yes Infill: 100% Notes: If you are having problems with the printing of the cylinder then consider increasing the shell thickness up to 3.2 mm which will prevent these shaking diagonal movements that are used for the in-fill.