Sainsmart Spool Holder with Guard

thingiverse

Sainsmart is selling competitively priced filement on Amazon that can be shipped via Amazon prime. This filament comes on cheap cardboard spools and the spools are wound to capacity. The Amazon reivews seem to indicate that the filament is a good value and decent quality, but I have seen some complain that the fact that the spool is wound to capacity can cause problems with the filament falling off the spool and tangling. This spool holder is designed to hold these spools. There is a notich in the spindle to accomodate the plastic plugs that make up the spool hole (which have a flange inside near the center of the spool). The spool guard helps keep the filament from falling off the spool and tangling. There is a hook at the end so that the spool holder can be used with other spools that may have a similar inner diameter, but do not require the guard. Also there is a barb on the machine-side clip to allow the holder to better "snap" into the machine. So far, I've printed a few hours on a brand new green spool without tangling or any other problems. Instructions I printed at 15% infill, 1 extra perimeter, 120mm/sec Curling was a problem, but not terrible. You could use "helper discs" if you were so inclined. After installing the spool holder and spool on the replicator, fit the guard tab into the slot. It is a tight fit and you might need to sand it a bit.