Portable, Manual Filament Winding Rig *Updated* by Precision1

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Update Dec 13: Handles are now available over at Etsy. With those handles you can really start rolling!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/579215601/handle-set-for-3d-filament-reel-set-of-2?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=filament%20handle&ref=sr_gallery_1
There are many fine filament reel holders here on Thingiverse, but I have noticed the lack of a simple, portable reel-to-reel winding rig setup. In the world of movie post production which I once haunted (though no fan of moviedom myself), we had access to workbench mounted, side loading film-winding rigs which let us easily wind through a reel of movie film (hundreds of feet long) to examine, clean or just prep the film for some process.
Herein I begin to help you have the same capability in the 3d filament world. You may "untangle," measure or even clean a roll of filament easily by building two of the item in the photos above.
Procedure is simple: get a 12" wood working clamp (crazy cheap at Harbor Freight) and cut off 4" from the open end. Next, jam 3" of 1/2" pvc pipe on the newly cut end, and push a 90 degree L piece on to that. Add a pvc pipe 3/34" long and an end cap.
It can now be clamped to the edge of any available table or appropriate piece of furniture.
For true stability, I add the extra footing of an Irwin Wide Bar Pad (from Lowes) to the top pad of the clamp. The bottom is fine without it.
Viola! A side-loading, portable and manual reel winding rig. All for around $10 each.
The only thing missing is a truly useful, universal fit handle. I don't know what the makers out there are using... maybe a small screw driver pushed in the filament end-saving hole along the rim?
I have an idea for the handle, but it will be a somewhat complicated build. Once I settle on the design my daughter has requested to offer them on Etsy. They must attach universally, firmly, and not un-screw as the reel is rotated.
Also included is an .stl file with some "souce" (arrow) and "target" (circle) tags to identify your winders, in case you have to step away or someone else has to resume your winding job. That way you always know what direction things were going!
Just open the clamp all the way, then slide the tag up into the partly-open bottom end of the vertical pvc tube.