Another Generic Spool for low cost uses by DarkAlaranth

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Update #3
Been awhile, but I altered my usual design to use bars that follow the curve of the center. This increases surface area to make the join stronger. Made this modification after the delivery company dropped one of these spools and the pegs sheared off. As a nice bonus, less support for the extender piece. :)
If your printer is very accurate (my new ender 3 pro seems more accurate than my CR10-S5) then the pieces may not fit together tightly. Superglue can help in this regard, although I'm considering making more STLs with different clearances. Sometimes 2 different clearances will go together better than 2 of the same clearance. Or maybe add vertical ridges on the pegs to grip the receiving holes better. :)
There's also a pretty fillet now between the spokes of the spool and it's center shaft. This is optimized for the RG6 cable that i use the spools for, but i can provide one without this if desired. Seems to help stability a little bit too.
Update #2
Added a new part, the extender. It goes between the 2 sides and allows one to put more cable, filament or whatever on the spool. This allows me to have separate pieces and adjust the spool after printing to the size I need. The STL provided increases the height of the spool by just over 100% to allow twice as much on the spool. Strength didn't seem affected by the extender.
The only downside is it does need supports, which makes one end a bit rough. If I think of a better design, expect a rework of the spool. ;) I have had a suggestion of a screw thread design in the center of the spool to increase re-usability. It may be considered for the reuse factor, although I suspect it may use more material. Certainly would help in regards to filament reel use.
Any advice for reducing material use without affecting spool strength would be appreciated.
I have also included the Autodesk Fusion 360 file so it's parameters can be changed if someone wants to alter the design. I can also create new STL files of different sizes if requested. :)End of Update #2Update #1
Fixed the spoke length not being calculated for larger spools (Added a calculation to handle it)
Fixed Spoke width making spokes going off-center (Fixed some constraints in the sketch)
The 3Kg Spool file is built off V1 as it is the same from V2 still.
The 5Kg Spool file is built of the new V2 file. Definitely needs a bigger than 300mm build volume. (I have a CR10 S5)
End of Update #1
First off, this needs to be printed twice for a functional spool. Designed to not need supports.
I built this to ship cables easier in Australia Post Bags, allowing for a reduction in postage costs on our online store and realised it can be used for nearly any spool like use really, including the obvious filament rolls.
My boss thinks it looks like a firehose reel, moreso when the cable was wound on! ^_^
I'll be interested in what parameters people use in the uploaded Fusion 360 file in relation to the task they used it for. I'll probably come back with specs for the eSun refill packs if someone doesn't beat me to it... ;)
If someone has specific measurements for common-ish uses, I can create the STL and uploaded here.
The current STL file results in a nice lightweight spool that costs me approx. $1.90 in eSun PLA+ filament (1KG roll price in AUD), and weighed in at 42g per half spool, or 84g total and fits quite nicely in AUPost's 3KG bags. See print settings to see how I got it nice and light. :)