Summary

A universal filament roll/reel holder for reels that have side walls smaller than the core. (Reference the last picture)

Instructions

After receiving several different styles of filament reels from other than Makerbot, I needed to create a way to hang the different filament reel designs. This assembly is designed to capture the reels from most suppliers other than Makerbot. It is also designed to be as a low friction option for those finding that a plastic printed roll holder is still making the filament pull stepper motor run hot or bind. The Bolt is a 5 to 6 inch long Round Head Square Neck 5/16-18 Carriage bolt. The first nut on the assembly is a nylon lock nut. I recommend that you find one that is pretty tall. This will insure keeping the reel from rubbing on the back of the printer. All the washers have a 5/16 in ID. You can use whatever size washers you want as long as the large washers OD is larger than the bearing OD and the small washer OD is smaller than the bearing OD. The bearing I used had an 8 mm ID and a 22 mm OD. They are able to be found most places that sell roller blades or roller skates. To adjust the assembly to fit the new reel, just move the location of the outer bearing. You do not need to use much torque to tighten the nuts on both sides of the bearings. Just maker sure they are tight enough to keep from wondering (a little tighter than hand tight). Have fun.

Universal Filament Reel Holder with Bearings