Sunday, January 16, 2011

Spooler




I have no idea what the correct term is but I think it is "spooler"
Anyway, my UP! 3d printer gets the plastic filament from a small spool, and wanting other colors (black) to play with I ordered some plastic filament from http://reprapsource.com/
So how do I get the large spool from reprap source to my small UP! spools?



What is needed to build one is:
  • 6pcs of 50cm m8 rods (3x1m)
  • 6pcs of 33cm m8 (2x1m)
  • 4pcs Spool holder caps
  • 4pcs rod holders
  • 4pcs 608 bal bearings
  • 4pcs Mendel footed vertexes
  • 2pcs Mendel non-footed vertexes
  • 4pcs M4 screws, nuts and washers.
  • Some m8 nuts and washers.


Step1. Assemble 2 frames using 3x50cm m8 rods each, 2 vertexes with feet and one without for the top, like a standard mendel build. Measure all distances so they are the same, it´s not that important what distances they are at, just that they are the same so it wont be wobbly standing.

Step2. Connect the two frames with the 4x33cm m8 rods, two at the top and two in each corner at the bottom.

Tighten the nuts when it can stand without wobbling, 



Now put in bearings and nuts into the rod holder. and put them where you want the spool and tighten the M4 screws. Just loosen the screw to slide it up or down to where you want it.


It's a pretty snug fit so you might need pliers to get it in.



I plan to make a motor for more automatic spooling but a screwdrivers works good so far, it takes me about 1-2minutes to fill up a small spool with 700g of 1.73mm filament so I will probably survive pretty long without a motor on it.



















Files to print:

  • Spool/rod holder STL
  • Spool cap STL
  • Footed vertex from Prusa Mendel
  • Vertex from Prusa Mendel

The vertexes are licensed under GPL and availiable at www.reprap.org.
the direct link to the prusa mendel github: https://github.com/prusajr/PrusaMendel/tree/master/stl

For the parts I constructed myself, goto http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5605

I have run it a few times and I´m under a minute now for a full spool with a steady hand ;-)
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5 comments:

  1. jmgJanuary 16, 2011 at 5:28 PM

    Hey Chris,
    Can you confirm that the reprapsource filament runs ok in the UP? I now have over 10 of the little spools from pp3dp and am thinking it's about time I sourced some cheaper filament to put on them.
    Thanks,
    Jean-Marc.

    ReplyDelete
  2. chrisJanuary 16, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    It runs good, it smells a bit more but so does the last rolls of the PP3DP filament. The black smells more than the white but still prints good. I´ll put up some photos as soon as I can.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arq. José Joaquín PrietoJanuary 26, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    Hey Chris you buy this abs from Joachim ?. And how much it cost for you whit out shipping . Your parts are very good . Well I like to know if is good to build a Prusa Mendel to do more thinks , is like a UP specifications ? .
    Best regards


    J.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownFebruary 15, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    Hi Chris,

    Are you still happy with the Reprapsource fillament in your UP! ?

    I am thinking of using it also for my UP!..

    Remco

    ReplyDelete
  5. jmgFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:42 PM

    Hello Chris,

    Have you had any problems with the filament from reprapsource? I had been running one of their spools of white 1.7mm ABS when my extruder motor started making loud banging noises and stopped pushing the filament through the nozzle. I have measured the reprapsource filament to be 1.9mm instead of 1.7mm. Have you had any similar issues, or is my spool just a bad batch?

    ReplyDelete

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