Update on the Tangle-Free Filament Spool Holder

A year or so ago I posted this design for a filament spool holder that prevents tangles caused by the filament springing over the flanges of the spool:

The original design didn't use rubber bands- I just twisted the nut tight once the roller was pushed down on the spool flanges.  Unfortunately, if you leave something finger tight at a makerspace, it will get taken apart... daily!  I replaced the regular nut with a nylock nut and added the rubber bands.  Then the rubber bands started disappearing, of course!

A couple weeks ago one of my friends at the Milwaukee Makerspace, Tom Klein, who has forgotten more about machining than I will ever know, did a modification to the design.  He saw that I was using rubber bands to pull the top roller down on the spool's flanges and thought it would be better without the rubber bands.  I couldn't have agreed more.

I provided a CAD drawing of the original roller, he dug through the bar stock at the makerspace, and then he got busy on the lathe.  The top roller is now made of steel, and is heavy enough that no rubber bands are needed:

Top roller made of steel, includes F608 bearings like the original printed plastic roller.  The weight of the roller eliminates the need for rubber bands to pull it down against the filament spool flanges.

The bolt is secured with a nylock nut and is left just loose enough that the roller can slide up and down in the slots in the frame.

If you have a lathe, I can wholeheartedly recommend this modification.

Thanks Tom!