[DIY] Simple Spool Winder - 3D Print

Needed to quickly respool filament from 3Kg spools onto 1Kg ones. Nothing beats just spinning the receiving spool on a drill, hence this simple spool winder.

The concept is initially based on the 'simple spool winder' from user_849319329   

But I also needed a faster nut mounting / removal, support for a hex bit from a compact driver, and an optional 80mm long M8 bolt for heavy 3Kg spools. Hence this design:

 

Comes with 3 driver coupling types:

 

It can accomodate a wide range of spools, including YXPolyer's that have a recessed center cylinder, and 3Kg spools like this one from Tangled, up to ~120mm wide:

Respooling from a 3Kg spool (mounted on this spool holder):

Love it, takes only minutes. So much faster that any other method (pastamatic, spool switcher, etc). Wunderschön !

This said, the filament doesn't get neatly respooled with beautiful side by side coils, so packing a full 1Kg can be a challenge without bumping into the filament feeder's casing in an AMS slot. But I don't give a toss about the coils' look, 0.95Kg is plenty enough, and the haphazard coiling doesn't impact the prints in any way.

To start a spool I just stick the flament end under a piece of tape. No need to use a cardboard cylinder core. Ceci dit, si on est rusé, using a spent Bambu cardboard core with its RFID tag can be useful as it fools the AMS into thinking it's bambu filament, thereby providing type detection, auto-switch on empty, etc.

Warning: PLA doesn't always like to be respooled. Many users have reported PLA filament breaking into pieces after respooling. That's because PLA filament is quite rigid and brittle. During factory extrusion, once it's coiled up, its structure fully cools down and settles with whatever diameter it's at on the spool. Respooling changes that diameter (esp. for outter coils rewound on spool core) and stresses the filament, so it develops cracks over time.

To avoid that, once respooled, I put it through a drying cycle, like 4 hours at 55°C. That softens the PLA and relieves mechanical stress.

 

 Print settings:

• 0.4mm nozzle, 0.20 layer height
•  4 walls, 4 top, 4 bottom
• 25% Adaptive Cubic infill
• no support 

The Fusion360 CAD, STEP, and 3MF files are on Github and MakerWorld

Feel free to copy, remix, whatever. 

Happy fresh spools to all !