Roller Spool Holder for Prusa i3 by MinorHavoc

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

This is a replacement spool holder for the original Prusa i3 Mk2/Mk2S 3D printer using common, easy-to-obtain 608 bearings for less friction. In the original Prusa spool holder, the spool rests on little stubs. Unfortunately the spool tends to rub on the stubs and the additional friction causes the filament to pull on the print carriage during printing. This holder also retains the spool more securely while still allowing easy spool changes.
The roller w/bearings is mounted on a 1/4-inch aluminum rod using optional bushings.
As a bonus, I've included the design for an expandable roller. I found that the fixed roller works better for my needs most of the time, but the expandable roller is useful for an extra-wide filament spools since the halves of the roller can be fully disengaged to support any width.
Additional Materials Needed:
(2) 608 bearings (or 4 for the expandable roller)
7+ inches of 1/4-inch aluminum rod
Tools Needed:
Hobby Knife
Metal File