Awww Shoot! My Spool Doesn’t Fit My Holder


The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. Filament spools certainly do not deviate far from this sarcastic saying. So what are we 3D Printer folks to do? Here are a couple completely different DIY options:

[Mark] made a spool holder that can accept 2 different width spools. This design uses skate bearings to support the spool on two points at each end. There are 3 sets of bearing blocks to accommodate the 2 different width spools. When either size spool is installed, one of the bearing block sets goes unused.


[Ben] took a different approach to the same problem. His design holds the spool on its side making the spool width have no affect on the holders’ functionality. The parts for this spool holder are recycled from an old computer CD drive. If we’d have to suggest anything, it would be to add a little resistance to the spinning turntable to prevent uncontrolled filament unraveling (we’ve all been there).


38 thoughts on “Awww Shoot! My Spool Doesn’t Fit My Holder

      1. You can certainly do this but there’s one thing to be wary of. If there’s a bit of moisture in your filament and you wrap it tightly around a spool and it later dries out you can end up with “exploded” filament. As the filament dries it contracts and it can eventually just disintegrate into a million tiny pieces. I’m not saying it WILL happen, but it HAS happened to a few unlucky people. Just something to keep in mind.

      1. Does that mean there is something inherently wrong with wooden 3d printers? I was planning on copying the MendelMax(v1) but with wood.

        The Printrbot in the video is intersting, but I would imagine that the cantilever design introduces vibration issues.

        1. I think the cantilever design does overly stress the material. The metal Printrbot also beefed up the linear rods to, over the wood ones, and I think there are other improvements going on there too.

          I personally don’t like using thin plywood (1/4″ or 6mm) for structure like they did because it flexes and is prone to breaking from fatigue and accidents. I had to cut someone a new set of Thing-O-Matic parts because almost all wood parts were damaged in shipping. Double that (or more) and you’re probably fine.

        2. Wood (and wood derived products like MDF) expands and contracts with temperature changes and also with varying moisture in the air. Coating it with some resin and putting it under pressure to infuse the wood will stabilize it but that’s a lot of mess and work that can be avoided simply by using metal and plastic.

          You’ll never get the best accuracy with any wooden structural parts in a 3D printer or other CNC machine.

  1. Could always make a conveyor belt covered in arduinos for traction. The header pins would prevent the spool from sliding off. Or just put two tube connecting the bearings…covered in raspberry pi ‘s

  2. can someone explain why the spool roller method(i guess that’d be what it’s called) is preferable over just running a rod through the middle of the spool?

    seems like all these designs to get the spools to ride on rollers are much more complex then they should need to be..

    1. “Why not use a lazy suzan?” One never really thinks about that until one makes acquaintance with a woman whose name is Susan. “It’s a turntable!” they are wont to say…

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