Store the material spools, to feed the print in a flexible and compact way, and to maintain the material isolated.
#Description
##Introduction and contextualization
Letting the filament out in the open air is something that bothered me; having the material permanently exposed to moisture, something that won't be so bad in the area where I live. However, I felt that I should do something to address the issue (I have a Bambu Lab X1C with AMS and, I think, this is the culprit of my paranoia).
However, even with AMS, it is sometimes necessary to feed the printer with another material, such as TPU, or sometimes the spool does not load. This has happened to me several times, and I am sure it may have happened to most s who explore their printers.
Thus, this box can be used with any printer, as long as the spool meets the standard 1kg dimensions. Prusa, Bambu Lab, Creality, Elegoo, and others. The advantage is that it allows the filament to be relatively protected from humidity while being used by the printer.
A box for spools, I know there are many out there, but for those who already know me, they know that I like to do things my own way. So, I decided to make a box for the filament spools.
What is particular about it, you may ask:
1- It must be closed and provide the best possible seal (I think I've managed to do that)
2- Allow its production on almost all Bambu Lab printer's (Except the mini), Even so, it was necessary to divide the model into four parts for better management.
3- It should be aesthetically pleasing, visually communicating its function (more on this later).
4- Be aesthetically interesting while fulfilling functional needs (such as sealing and others).
5- Utilize the AMS which will assist in the previous point, both aesthetically and in communicating part of the function.
6- Easy printing with minimal material usage, PETG (PLA is another option) and TPU, and 3 screws and corresponding nuts to create a good seal, which is necessary for insulation.
7- Allow for the placement of some desiccant at the base to maintain controlled humidity levels. Check my Desiccant container for Spool a larger version can be found here:
Desiccant container for Spools 2
7.1 - The time it takes for the desiccant to become saturated depends on the humidity in your area. I recommend silica desiccant, which can be reused by heating it in an oven or microwave, and the after colling put in the container mentioned on the last point.
Besides these points, a box that would only serve to store the filament, I added some things:
Something to show me the humidity level inside the box. I had two options: strips of paper that change color depending on the humidity or an electronic device. I ended up using the latter, although paper strips are interesting, It is necessary to replace it from time to time…
Tree versions will be made available, one with the temperature and humidity sensor, another without it, and finally a simple container.
Another level up, which seemed obvious to me, was to create conditions for the filament spool to rotate inside and allow the filament to exit to the outside. In this situation, it was necessary to add more hardware, such as bearings... the cheapest ones I could find. The rotation as well as the weight of the spool are both irrelevant to the static or dynamic load acceptable for a normal ball bearing (a little over 10 Newtons for a full spool, and rotation is mostly inexistent).
So, the list of things has increased:
Printing material PETG and TPU from Bambu Lab,
Other material can use other materials you may prefer, like PLA, but PETG can make translucent parts (not easy, but possible (very slow and hot with a nice quality filament without moister, and don't expect "glass" like opacity. Here you can find an exceptional example of application: How To Print Glass by Rygar1432
This way is possible to see what's how much filament you have.
the file “SpoolBox_translucent.3mf” contains some top lids (with logo and clean) with a configuration that I think will render you the best results without taking you days to print. The one made by Rygar1432 will give you the best result, but will be a very slow print approx. 20mm/s
- For the TPU, use the one you may have, but the softer the better.
- Screws and nuts ( M3x18 A2-70 DIN 912 / ISO2768 or any other equivalent will do);
- Bearings;
- Optional: -- temperature and humidity sensor; -- Pneumatic adapter.
I think that's all, maybe a little glue if necessary. Even so, it's much cheaper than anything you can buy for this purpose (excluding cereal boxes and other food containers, which are a good option for those seeking something purely functional; I had to make do with an IKEA box).
