3D Printing Dremel 3D45 Top Spool Supports

Our school has upgraded their 3D printers for the tech class and as updates had interfered with the ability to upload 3D print files wirelessly my Spec Ed class was able to get it. After some tweaks we got it working, however the tortuous path of the filament, as seen in pictures 4-6, has resulted in it binding several times. That has necessitated pulling the printer head apart to clean the feed mechanism as it strips material off the jammed filament, a real pain. The solution we are pursuing is removing the top lid, which many printers do not have, and mounting the spools above so the filament feeds down to the printer head without going around corners.

• An appropriate sized dowel or small diameter pipe, determined by your filament spool hub.
• 2 supports with a dowel support end and 2x T10 holes to screw into the top door hinges.
• Supports may be made from anything strong enough, we are 3D printing them in the Tech class but they may be made of wood, aluminum, cut plastic sheet etc....
• 4x T10 bolts, originals may suffice but depending on how you build the supports may need longer bolts
• 2x dowel retention clips (optional) to keep dowel from sliding out
• 2x spindle retention clips (optional) to keep spindle centered.

The dimensions you absolutely need are the clearance hole diameter for the M3 T10 bolts (3.2mm), the distance between centers of the bolt holes (8mm), the spool radius (90mm) and the diameter of the spindle hole of the spool (15mm). You can determine other dimensions to give adequate clearances, I originally chose a height of 110mm as spool diameter is 180mm (radius is 90mm) however I was made aware there are some larger spools so went with 150mm. This may be adjusted at need by changing the tinkercad designs and printing a new set or laser cutting them from wood or going old school with saw and drill.

Clean any overhang supports generated by the 3D printer slicer as necessary, if you went the 3D print route, and mount them on the hinge brackets (photo 1). You may be able to reuse the original M3 bolts or you may need to replace them with longer versions. Slide your spool on and happy printing. Note the spool will move side to side a bit but if the spindle is sized correctly it will not bind.