Filament Storage Rack

This is my take on a Filament Storage Rack. These instructions apply to all sizes of the racks. If you use 3ft dowels, you should be able fit 14-15 200G rolls, or 11-12 1KG rolls. You will probably notice that some of the links to the files are not there. That's because they are still in development. I am working on designing Attachments for the racks that make it so you can feed filament directly from the rack to your printer. Please Note: The screws I used to fasten the dowels to the brackets are way overkill, I was just using what I had. Also, don't do what I did with the wall anchors! You only need wall anchors if you aren't screwing into a stud. Thank you for reading this Instructable!

UPDATE 12/5/23: 1KG Rack files listed! See link in materials list.

UPDATE 12/19/23: Spacer to keep dowels from expanding published: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6387470

Tools:

• Drill with 3" bit to match the type of screw you are using
• 3D Printer to make the brackets
• Drill bit to drill pilot holes
• Level and Pencil for wall mounting

Materials:

Printed Brackets Links:

200G: https://cults3d.com/:1547879

1KG: https://cults3d.com/:1624112 (NOTE: Take 10% off this holiday season with the coupon code COBRA_D_2023 on this design and the 200G size now through January 5.)

• 3/4" dowels of your choice length
• 8 Screws (min. 3/4" length for the dowels, min.1 1/2" length for wall mounting)

Note: If you are fastening the rack onto drywall, you will either need to cut the dowels to length to fit the studs, or use plastic anchors. you can find those at you're local hardware store. To find the studs, either use a stud finding tool or look for where the drywall was screwed into the studs. Link to a stud finder tool: https://a.co/d/5SJDhS4

First, You will need to drill pilot holes in the dowels. Insert the dowels into a bracket. Using the holes in the bracket for mounting the dowels as a guide, drill a pilot hole in the dowel. do this to each end of each dowel. Your pilot hole should be as long as your screw and slightly smaller in diameter than the screw part of your screw. Having done that, screw in the screws, going slowly so as not to split the dowel. After the Rack is assembled, it will be able to flex a bit until you mount it on a wall. You may want to square it up on a flat surface before mounting it. (Note: Like the Raspberry Pi camera setup in the picture? I designed that. Link: https://www.printables.com/model/597986-raspberry-pi-camera-mount-arm

To wall mount, first position the rack where you want it on your wall. Then, use a level to make sure that it's level.

Holding it in place, mark the mounting holes with the pencil. You may want to have a helper to hold it while you mark. Next is drilling the holes in the wall. Find the pencil marks on the wall where you made them and drill the holes with the appropriate bit. If you are using wall anchors to mount the rack, make sure that you follow the manufacturer's instructions on the size of the bit for the hole and how to use the anchors. If not, just drill a pilot hole for your screw. Make sure that you drill on your marks and not on a ding in the wall (note the 5th hole on the left)! I recommend doing the top 2 screws first. It took me a few tries but I finally got it!

It works great! So far I only have built the 200G version and the 1KG version, But I will tell you when I build the 500G. The 200G version even fits small Sunlu rolls. So far only the 1KG and 200G versions are available. I have yet to buy a 500G roll of filament to get dimensions from but when I do I will design a version of the rack for 500G rolls. I also published a spacer to keep the dowels from expanding. See link in the introduction. Thank you for reading this Instructable. Please let me know if you have any Questions, comments, or concerns, or if you have any future project ideas. Thanks!