Filament Spindle

Release status: Experimental

Introduction

A printable built-in filament management solution. Hopefully bringing an end to tangled messes and bizarre hanging contraptions!

Building on the work of these other designs.

Mendel Feed Spool by nicholasclewis

Perhaps adapt the partly printable spool from the Mendel Feed Spool or the spool used in Zaggo's filament box.

The end result will look similar to the base of this Mini-Mendel rendering by M.BrittCrane

can either be attached to the bottom of the Mendel frame, sit under it, or sit beside it separately
stackable for multiple spools and/or multiple extruder configurations
can either feed directly into a normal extruder or provide a mounting spot for a bowden fed extruder motor
all cad files created using OpenSCAD therefore parametric for easy modification

So far the following parts have been optimized and converted to OpenSCAD...

Requires mendel.inc and mendel.conf from the Parameterized Mendel project.

Printed Image	CAD Image	OpenSCAD	STL	Description
		File:Spindle.scad		Common modules included by other scripts
		File:Spindle-tube-fitting.scad		Defines shape of the tube fitting used by tube holder
		File:Spindle-hub 1off.scad	File:Spindle-hub 1off.stl	Central hub with bearing that spool turns on
		File:Spindle-tube-holder 1off.scad	File:Spindle-tube-holder 1off.stl	Uses an embedded tube fitting (same as MakerBot's) along with HDPE tube to feed filament through
		File:Spindle-bearing-bracket 2off.scad	File:Spindle-bearing-bracket 2off.stl	Holds up half of the bearing rollers that the spool spins on (TODO: figure out why raftless skeinforge plugin seems to print entire first layer slowly instead of just the perimeter?)
		File:Spindle-support-bearing-bracket 4off.scad	File:Spindle-support-bearing-bracket 4off.stl	Holds up half of the bearing rollers that the spool spins on as well as 2 cross bearing rods top and bottom
		File:Spindle-corner-bracket 8off.scad	File:Spindle-corner-bracket 8off.stl	corners, double holes so that the same model can be used on all 4 or 8 corners
		File:Spindle-spool-spoke 4off.scad	File:Spindle-spool-spoke 4off.stl	attaches to the bottom wooden circle for a partially printed spool
		File:Spindle-spool-hub 1off.scad	File:Spindle-spool-hub 1off.stl	attaches to the top wooden circle for a partially printed spool for spokes to snap into for easy removal

McMaster #	Price Each	Quantity	Total Price	Description
98861A080	$2.27	5	$11.35	Metric Class 4.6 Plain Steel Threaded Rod M8 Size, 1 Meter Length, 1.25 mm Pitch (not sure if this is the right number of rods yet)
		2		280mm x 280mm, 4mm thick plywood to be cut into circles for spool (using Zaggo's spool design)
		4		M4x15 cap screws
		4		M4 nuts
		8		M4 washers
		2		M3x15 cap screws
		2		M3 nuts
		4		M3 washers
50375K41	$0.14	25	$3.50	about 900mm HDPE Tubing - 1/4" OD, 1/8" ID (25' is smallest size for sale, maybe PTFE tube would be better? Here's the cheapest source of PTFE tube)
5225K712	$2.85	1	$2.85	Brass Push-to-Connect Tube Fitting Adapter for 1/4" Tube OD X 1/8" NPTF Male Pipe
91862A101	$1.86	1	$1.86	1/8"-27 NPT Nut (for mounting tube fitting)
90592A022	$4.29	2	$8.58	M8 nuts (probably need like 128)
93475A270	$7.00	2	$14.00	M8 washers (probably need like 128)
vxb.com is cheaper	$0.59	5	$2.95	608ZZ Bearing 8x22x7 Shielded
			$45.09	TOTAL (doesn't include spool construction)

Coming Soon...

<videoflash>3jtXaDFM9KM</videoflash>

~~order vitamins~~ vitamins arrived and seem to be correct
make some modifications to Printable Horizontal Filament Spool models (might need diagonal reinforcement?)
figure out proper dimensions and most efficient way to cut 1m rods
figure out a logical way to attach to bottom of Mendel frame