Dual Filament Roll Stand
Dual Filament Roll Stand
Putting the cart a little before the horse here ... been trying to come up with an idea for a stand for two rolls of filament. Something fairly simple and compact. This came to mind today after I designed the little ball bearing roller for a kayak part I built this morning.
The rollers are designed with races for 3mm balls - and the ball bearing rollers include retainers to control the bearing balls - 7 balls per roller. Dimensional accuracy of the build is critical for the bearing races - but I've been working on getting accurate parts and have that down pretty good these days.
The arms to the outriggers will be 3/16" steel rods. I'll press or glue them in the holes in the outriggers. The build (ABS) is running now and should be done by morning. I'll have to run out and pick up some steel rod so I can assemble it.
The rollers are designed with races for 3mm balls - and the ball bearing rollers include retainers to control the bearing balls - 7 balls per roller. Dimensional accuracy of the build is critical for the bearing races - but I've been working on getting accurate parts and have that down pretty good these days.
The arms to the outriggers will be 3/16" steel rods. I'll press or glue them in the holes in the outriggers. The build (ABS) is running now and should be done by morning. I'll have to run out and pick up some steel rod so I can assemble it.
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
Even 3 mm balls will come out chunky and jam in the races. Perhaps roller bearings would work better?zemlin wrote: Dimensional accuracy of the build is critical for the bearing races
I'd be sorely tempted to buy a pack of real bearings:
https://www.amazon.com/Bearing-Shielded ... 002BBIC6K/
Those run just over a buck a pop from VXB, a reliable supplier, but it's hard to go wrong with even the worst precision bearing; ABEC-1 / Class 6X would be overqualified. Skateboard bearings are cheap, readily available, and come in convenient eight-packs:
https://www.amazon.com/Sector-PDP-Abec- ... B001LNZRTY
Metal dust shields work just fine, although the additional drag from snug plastic seals might be a Good Thing in a filament feeder:
http://www.gobearings.com/shields.htm
Print a fancy belly band for each bearing to keep the spool from wandering away.
You could go nuts with aluminum:
https://softsolder.com/2010/09/01/impro ... tensioner/
I ran those on my bike for nigh onto five years and they're still in great shape...
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
I'm not printing the balls - I'm using stainless 3mm ball bearings. Works great so far. I hear ya' on buying real bearings if this doesn't work out - but there's some satisfaction in the challenge.ednisley wrote:zemlin wrote: Even 3 mm balls will come out chunky and jam in the races. Perhaps roller bearings would work better?
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
We're in the same corner of that! [grin]zemlin wrote:but there's some satisfaction in the challenge
A pair of these would look spectacular on a shaft through the middle of a spool, particularly with the OD scaled to fit the spool ID:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:53451
They pop off the platform ready to use, roll smoothly, and make a great fondletoy...
Roll on!
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
Here's the complete assembly. Confession - even though the rollers spin quite freely, the friction between the spool and the rollers is so low they are more likely to slide on the spool than roll.
Don't know what's going on with my phone pics that the thumbnail comes in upside down.
Don't know what's going on with my phone pics that the thumbnail comes in upside down.
Last edited by zemlin on Mon Sep 05, 2016 10:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
That's a pretty cool gizmo.ednisley wrote:A pair of these would look spectacular on a shaft through the middle of a spool ...
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
That's very nice! Great job on it!
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
One wrap of silicone tape or snap an O-ring (or two or three) into the groove so the spool rides on the ring(s).zemlin wrote:friction between the spool and the rollers is so low
But, hey, sliding supports could get you all the way to the goal...
Re: Dual Filament Roll Stand
That's kinda' where I'm at ... yeah, I could make the rollers roll, but it won't make it work any better.ednisley wrote:But, hey, sliding supports could get you all the way to the goal...
If it ain't broke ... ...