Improved Bambu Lab Reusable Spool Holder

This design improves the original Bambu Lab reusable spool holder in the following ways:

• Allows you to see how much filament is left on the spool and uses less filament to print the spool due to the hexagon pattern on the sides. Also, the pattern does not compromise the strength of the model.
• Has 6 pairs of holes all around the rim to give you more places to stick the loose end of the filament (compared to 1 pair on the original).
• Passthrough holes to secure the end of the filament when re-spooling.
• Has arrows on the inside of both parts to quickly find out how to orient both parts to be able to twist them together. Simply align the arrows from each part and they snap together.
• New in v2: the holes around the rim are angled at 45° to bend the loose end of the filament less.
• Allows you to put cardboard spools with torn-off sides on the spool, even with core diameters smaller than Bambu Lab's spool (see the Versions section for details)

Print each “narrow” and “wide” model once for one complete spool.

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Versions

• If you want to use Bambu Lab filament refills:
  • use the version in the folder Print Files (STL) for Bambu Filament Refills.
• If you want to only use this for re-spooling, with other filament brands' refills, or with cardboard spools with torn-off sides where the inner core diameter is around 81mm or above (standard Bambu Lab spool size):
  • use the version in the folder Print Files (STL) for non-Bambu Filament Refills, which does NOT have the notch that is needed for Bambu Lab filament refills.
• If you want to only use this to put cardboard spools with torn-off sides on, where the inner core diameter is between 69 and 80 mm:
  • use the version in the folder Files for smaller cardboard spools, which includes an STL for cardboard spools with an inner core diameter of 74 mm, which fits newer Inland cardboard spools
    • If you need a different diameter, open the two Fusion 360 files in the folder mentioned in the previous bullet point, change the value of the parameter named center_core_outer_diameter to your desired diameter and mention in the comments which diameter and spool brand you used so I can add it.

Printing Instructions

For prints without supports, I'd recommend printing it in a material that is heat resistant enough to withstand a filament dryer, like PETG, ABS, ASA, PC, PA-CF, etc. Be careful when using PETG spools in a dryer, only use low temperatures as the glass transition temperature of PETG is still quite low at around 85°C and the spools could melt. To be on the safe side, stick with PC and PA-CF.

If you're printing in a very strong material like PC or PA-CF 15% infill is enough, otherwise, I recommend using 6 wall loops and 25% infill for more sturdiness.

• Allows you to see how much filament is left on the spool and uses less filament to print the spool due to the hexagon pattern on the sides. Also, the pattern does not compromise the strength of the model.
• Has 6 pairs of holes all around the rim to give you more places to stick the loose end of the filament (compared to 1 pair on the original).
• Passthrough holes to secure the end of the filament when re-spooling.
• Has arrows on the inside of both parts to quickly find out how to orient both parts to be able to twist them together. Simply align the arrows from each part and they snap together.
• New in v2: the holes around the rim are angled at 45° to bend the loose end of the filament less.
• Version with smaller core diameter.