Wanhao i3 M8 Spool Holder Upgrade Kit by NozzleClog

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Introduction:
Before you print this spool holder upgrade kit you really should print out Azza's Z brazes (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:921948) to help support the added weight of multiple spools and reduce the secondary motion this will cause on the i3's frame when printing. The Z braces will definately also improve your prints.
What is it:
This is an in progress of a M8 spool holder upgrade kit for the stock spool holder on the Wanhao i3 v1 and v2. Nothing extraordinary.
Since it's an in progress, all parts of the kit haven't been included yet.
Two parts remains to be finished. One of which is a simple "spool lock + filament guide + spool break" all-in-one thingy utilizing Newton's 3rd law. Yes... This printer just brings out the absolute worst in me :-) But, I haven't figured out the final design of this contraption yet.
What it does:
Strengthens the original spoolholder and enables your own favorite M8 spool adaptor with the Duplicator i3 while also getting some added space for an extra spool.
Moreover you also get a third extra storage for a spare spool on the old spoolholder.
And... I also added some storage on one of the braces for hex wrenches and that all mighty clog tool.
Important:
Do not split up the models contained in the i3_M8_Upgrade_Braces.stl into multiple pieces (in Cura or other slicer). Because these braces contains an inner structure which will then be separated if you split the objects up. Without these inner structures the braces will be considerably weaker, well... unless you print with 100% infill. But why waste filament?
Notes:
I've tried to make this as simple a print as possible using minimum amount of filament. I went for this approach instead of creating an entirely new holder or some kind of reinforcement that encapsulates or covers the entire stock spool holder.
You will need:
2 x screws a bit longer than the ones currently holding the top gantry on the i3
1 x M8 threaded rod
2 x M8 lock nuts
2 x medium sized cable ties
2 x 3D printed M8 Spool Adaptor of you own choice
Personally, I alternate between Robotnik's original spool adaptor (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:127181) and my own remix of the same (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1674318).
If you choose to use Robotnik's spool adaptor you will need atleast:
2 x 608ZZ bearings (4 x for the remix)
You might also wan't to use a normal M8 nut or some kind of M8 stop/or clamp to lock any spool adaptors in place.
When my filament guide is ready you will probably also need:
1 x 0.5m PTFE tubing (same type as used with bowden)
Other reflections:
The i3 itself has a rather flexible flimsy top metal sheet gantry that the spool holder sits on top of. I haven't adressed this particular issue but, someone else here might have an idea of the easiest way of strengthening this top metal part.
I'm more for non printed solutions when it comes to purely mechanical issues like this, but, sometimes printed parts makes for an easy quickfix.
In my opinion I think Wanhao should have folded some of the sheet metal parts of the Duplicator i3 one more time... which would have made it stronger and more stable than it is now.
Some of that still seems to be true for the Duplicator i3 Plus, but Wanhao has improved some of the i3's weaknesses with the i3 Plus.
Last reminder...
Be gentle with the spool holder. Like the Wanhao manual illustrated (if I remember correctly) never ever use the spool holder as a handle for lifting or moving the printer. Doing so might bend the spool holder but may also distort the sheet metal pieces of the printer itself. Who knows so... just dont! :-)