Kossel Mini
New Spool Holder
As I mentioned in my initial Kossel post, the filament spool holder is a little tight and doesn’t hold the spool securely during transit so I’ve been looking for a better alternative. The choices for the Kossel essentially come down to horizontal top mount, vertical top mount, vertical side mount and external mount. As I want to keep it self-contained and within a small footprint, the side and external options are out.
I currently have a horizontal top mount which is probably the most compact layout and there are a number of designs on Thingiverse based on a central spool holder which would keep the current layout but with a secured spool. However, I wondered if a vertical mount would provide a more direct route to the extruder.
After much searching, I settled on the cones and locking mechanism from this design, a length of 8mm smooth rod salvaged from the old Prusa (I think it looks nicer than threaded rod) and a pair of top-mounted brackets I designed myself because I couldn’t find anything suitable elsewhere. The brackets started off short but ended up being a bit taller as the spool didn’t quite fit in the available space at the original height.
I’m happy with the end result. It runs much smoother and is secure while still being easy to replace the spool.
Posted on 30 May 2016
