Filament Spool Holder - a free 3D model from Shapekit

A spool holder that works with every spool you own. The spool lies on its two rims on a pair of long rollers that turn on standard 608 skate bearings, so the hole in the middle doesn't matter: 250 g minis, 1 kg plastic or cardboard spools and 3 kg spools all roll freely, from Ø100 to Ø300 mm and up to 110 mm wide. Side walls keep the spool from walking off, and a guide arm leads the filament off the bottom of the spool towards your printer, with a pocket for a PTFE tube. No screws, no glue, no supports.

Parts (each STL is already placed the right way up for printing)
- filament-spool-holder-base.stl: The stand: a floor with two side walls that keep the spool on the rollers, open slots the rollers drop into, a socket front and back for the guide, a slit on top of each wall to tuck the loose end of the filament in, and recesses underneath for rubber bumpers. Print: Upright, floor on the bed. No supports.
- filament-spool-holder-roller.stl (print 2): A Ø28 × 107 mm tube with a pocket for a 608 bearing in each end. The spool's rims roll on it anywhere along its length. Print: Standing up, no supports. A brim helps it stay put.
- filament-spool-holder-peg.stl (print 4): The axle for one bearing: an 8 mm seat in the bearing, a collar that touches only its inner ring, and a journal that drops into the slot in the wall with its head outside. Print: Head down, no supports.
- filament-spool-holder-guide.stl: An arm that plugs into the socket at the front or the back of the base and curves round the biggest spool to an eyelet: a funnel on the spool side, a 2.6 mm hole and a pocket for a 4 mm PTFE tube. Print: Flat on its side, no supports.

Also needed (not printed)
- 4 ball bearings type 608 (8 × 22 × 7 mm, the standard skate bearing), 608-2Z or 608-2RS. Any ABEC rating works.
- Optional: a length of 4 mm PTFE tube (2 mm inside) to lead the filament from the guide to your printer.
- Optional: four self-adhesive rubber bumpers, 10 mm across, for the recesses under the base.
- No screws, no bolts and no glue: the printed pegs are the axles.

Print settings: 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.20 mm layer height, 3 walls, 15% gyroid infill, PLA or PETG material.

Assembly
1. Print the parts: Nothing needs supports. Print the two rollers standing up (a brim helps) and the four pegs head down. Turn on elephant's foot compensation, or scrape the bottom edge of each bearing pocket, so the bearings go in straight.
2. Press in the bearings: Press a 608 bearing squarely into each end of both rollers, with a vice or by pushing the roller down onto a bearing lying on the table, until it stops on the ledge inside. The pocket is 22.15 mm, which prints as a firm press fit. If yours comes out loose, add a drop of glue on the outer ring only.
3. Fit the pegs: Push a peg into every bearing, seat first, until its small collar touches the bearing's inner ring. The seat is 7.9 mm, so it slides in; the walls hold it in place later.
4. Drop in the rollers: Hold a roller by its two pegs and lower it into the stand so the pegs drop into the slots in the walls, with the heads outside. Give it a spin: it should turn freely, with a quarter of a millimetre of end play each side.
5. Add the guide and a spool: Slide the guide's tongue into the socket at the front of the base (or the back, if your printer is behind it). Lay the spool on the rollers between the walls, turned so the filament comes off the bottom of the spool towards the guide, and thread it through the funnel. Push a PTFE tube into the pocket on the other side if you use one.
6. Mini spools and storage: On spools under Ø140 mm, take the filament off the top instead, so it doesn't brush the front roller. When the spool is off the printer, tuck the end of the filament into the slit on top of a wall. Stand the holder on a level surface.

Safety: Small parts: keep the pegs and the bearings away from young children.

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Print it, remix it and share it, as long as you credit Shapekit and don't sell the files or the prints.
