Ultimate Lock-Down Filament Roller

Last crawled date: 4 years, 1 month ago

I was tired of filament spool rollers that:
make squeeky noises,
don't fit ANY size of spool (...under 10Kg),
require different sized parts for different spool sizes,
the spool can fall off of or fall over on,
get dragged on and move around.
...So I built this locked down spool roller. There is a couple of acryllic tubes on skateboard bearings, similar to other rollers. The addition of a threaded rod spinning on a bearing mounted to a z-axis enables locking in place a spool of any size. Pro-Tip: Lock the spool lose enough so that it spins flat on the rollers. With the spool locked in place, there is no way it can fall over. There are holes to bolt the assembly to the table, so it's not going anywhere.
3D Printed Parts:
1X : Top (no support)
1X : Bottom (use support)
1X : End (use support)
1X : Lock (use support)
1X : Buffer Tube (no support)
2X: Cones (no support - print flat with channels on bottom for easy part removal)
4X: Roller Ends (use support)
Hardware:
4X : Threaded Rods - 1 ft, 5/16"-24 - https://www.mcmaster.com/90032a051
4X : Hex Head Screw - 1-1/4", 5/16"-24 - https://www.mcmaster.com/92198a306
1X : Hex Head Screw - 1-3/4", 5/16"-24 - https://www.mcmaster.com/92198a308
2X : Wingnut - 5/16"-24 - https://www.mcmaster.com/92001a331
19X : Hex Nut - 5/16"-24 - https://www.mcmaster.com/91845a115
1X : Phillips Head Screw - 45mm, M3 - https://www.mcmaster.com/90116a186
2X : Hex Nut - M3 - https://www.mcmaster.com/94150a325
2X : Aluminum Hex Bar - 1 ft, 7mm - https://www.mcmaster.com/8252t31
1X : Acrylic Tube - 6 ft, 1" OD, 7/8" ID - https://www.mcmaster.com/8532k21
5X : Skateboard bearing - 8x22x7mm, including washers - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07VH6XT6Z/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_q8WBEbDF5A3BX
Some cutting of materials to size is required, like the acrylic tubing, and possibly the hex bar.
For long term use, consider nylon locking nuts and/or lock-tite in areas that would benefit. On the other hand, a finger-tight configuration also has its convenience, but may require tightening now and then.
Happy rolling!