Filament System Spool Holder For Robo 3d R1 +Plus by jdacal

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

NOTE: IF YOU USE HATCHBOX FILAMENT THIS WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU. Reel hole diameter is smaller than this spool holder.
This is my second re-mix of this excellent spool holder. The original I did for my Makergear M2.
I've used several Thingiverse items to put this filament handling system together for the Robo 3D R1 +Plus.
The systems consists of the following:
Rotating spool holder
Rotating spool holder mounting base
Metal plate to mount the base to the plastic robo housing
Filament guide to guide the filament up towards the top of the Robo
PTFE tubing
Two filament dust filters. One with a sponge inside to clean the filament (mounts between the reel and filament guide (not shown in the picture)). Another that mates with the Robo filament guide on top of the Robo cover but WITHOUT A SPONGE. The sponge can keep the filament from retracting properly so I'm only using this one as a guide for the filament and to mate with the PTFE tubing. See instructions on how to mate it. Here's the link to download the filter STL's: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:704809
Hardware
The spool holder is sized for most large 5lb reels. 52mm slide-on adapters are included for the more standard smaller reels. Also, I have included a Taulman Reel adapter that slides on the spool holder and has a separate smaller spool holder for the taulman reel.
Please see my original re-mix of this spool holder for information on sourcing bolts and washers to complete the item, the instructions are included in the images of that item:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:523415
You'll also find many more pictures there.
The only part not mentioned in my original remix is the metal plate that I used to mount the spool holder base to the Robo Housing. I used this in order to try to avoid stress to the plastic Robo housing. Not sure if it will help, but it definitely can't hurt. Stainless Steel Sheet Metal 16 Gauge .060" 304 #4 (brushed finish) 2" x 2". I purchased it on eBay from this supplier:
http://stores.ebay.com/SheetMetalsOnline?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
It mounts on the inside of the Robo housing. You will need to drill four holes into it using the rotating spool holder base as a guide. Also be careful that the screws you use to mount it don't get in the way of any moving parts on the Robo!
I will probably be making revisions to this post in the next few days. I think I've covered everything but will probably add a few more details.
The spool holder turns smooth as silk, you may actually need to overtighten the bolt a little bit to create some friction to slow it down. Definitely takes the load off the stepper motor.
You will need to ream out the spool holder with a good wire brush to size it just right on the bolt. I made it a little tight on purpose to allow for a nice snug fit on the bolt. So the wire brush will be needed. My original re-mix has more detailed instructions regarding setup:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:523415