Spool Holder, Spool Almost Fell Off

During my print job, I noticed the spool was going to fall off and I saved it right in time. I was looking for how to properly install the spool holder since all I did was connect the 2 washers on one end.

I thought maybe I could use the small washer on the side connecting to the acrylic base, and use the large one on the opposite side to hold the spool in, the screw however is too small so it makes me think both washer to go on the other end.

So why is there a screw on the other end and how do I hold the spool in place so it does not fall? Am I missing another set of washers since I only got two?

 

I was well on my way to a first successful print of Mr. Jaws, and left the printer alone. Returning when I hear a crash, I found the spool had fallen and knocked my printer out of alignment.... again.

The problem is, the acrylic bends enough to allow the shaft to droop when it's holding a spool. My solution was to stuff some scraps of leather under the lower end of the mounting plate to angle the shaft upwards slightly. I plan to cut and notch myself a bit of 1x2 to prop under the end of it.

 

That is my fear! Looks like I'm going to have to mod the spool holder, I'm going to add a washer on the end first and see how that goes.

 

Ok, just watched the spool holder installation video, so it looks like I installed it right. They do mention that you can add something to the end to keep it in place. Would have been nice to get something to cap that other end. Hopefully they will do something in the future for new customers.

Oh here's that video:

 

I ended up grabbing a plastic lid from a food container, poked a hole in the center, and screwed it on. I've since created a part to print to replace it, but haven't printed out successfully yet due to calibration issues. Once I do, I'll post it to thingiverse... but it y'all rummage through the house I'm sure you can find SOMETHING that will work in the meanwhile. Hack up a piece of cardboard from something if ya have to.

 

My holder didn't come with the sticky tape on the bottom and the one on top was useless. The whole piece kept sliding off. Even when holding it by hand, the filament roll wanted to slide off. So I jerry-rigged it with a really big rubberband to hold it on the case and put washers on the end of the spool rod. I watched the filament feed and the angle from the side caused a lot of jerking. I left the print for a few minutes and when I returned the print had stopped completely, just sitting there in mid print. The filament was very tight. When I loosened the bolts to the extruder, the filament sprang out like it was stretched to the limit. I ran it again and the same thing happened. I ended up making a temporary spool holder that sits on the top of the case and allows the filament to feed down straight instead of from the side. With the exception of my print sliding issue, it seems to be working fine.

 

I ended up taking mine off. The filament would come off the spool and get stuck around the peg. I left a printer for awhile and came back to find that the print assembly had climbed up the stuck filament to the top of the printer.

 

What I use on my spool holder is some velcro. That way I can still take it off when I want, but otherwise it stays put.

For the other end, it seems filament just wanted to roll off eventually. I just printed this and using the stock spool holder screws it does nicely.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:187074

 

When I first got my printer, I also had problems with the spool "drooping" away from the printer. While the spool didn't fall off, the droop caused there to be a big gap between the spool and the spool holder and, since the PLA liked to unravel a bit from the spool as it was feeding, I soon ended up with a bunch of filament tightly wound around the spool holder spindle (in the space between the spool and the holder).

I made a couple quick and dirty fixes to deal with the problem. First, I added a 3/4" slice off the end of some foam insulation for hot water pipes (the spongy type you can get in any h/w store) that I happened to have lying around. It is about 2-3 inches in diameter and the inside hole (where the hot water pipe is supposed to go) was about 3/4 inches. This then easily slipped over the supplied washer on the spool holder and forced the spool itself to stay close to the holder instead of slipping off. (This serves the same purpose of a large washer, but it is much easier to take on and off as you chance spools since you can just slide it on/off over the supplied spindle washer).

In addition, I noticed that the filament liked to come off the spool at the bottom instead of the top. A large nail and some blue tape on the top edge of the spool holder gave me a place to route the filament around and it quickly fixed this problem as well.

Here's a picture:


I realize these are quick and ugly fixes, but they might let you get up and running for a few days while you are looking for a better solution.

I've since converted to a top-mounted spool holder (there are a couple on ThingVerse -- search for "Robo 3D" and I'm in the middle of printing and testing my own design right now which I'll upload if it works better.

Sheldon