AMS 2025

CreativeTools Creates Most Unique, Innovative 3D Printable Universal Filament Holder Yet

Share this Article

spoolholder5Without filament, FFF-based 3D printers simply would not be able to print. For those who don’t know, filament is to a 3D printer what ink cartridges are to an inkjet 2D printer. It is the plastic material that is melted and then extruded in small layers until an object is fully fabricated.

The other day, I was printing out some toys for my son. I had to leave the house for two hours, and fully expected that when I returned I would have 3 little toys laying finished on my print bed. Unfortunately, when I returned to check on my prints, the printer had completely stopped printing halfway through. I couldn’t figure out what went wrong… until I looked at the filament and found that it had become tangle up upon itself, preventing its own flow to the extruder. The 3D printer had no other option but to shut down. This was completely my fault, as I had been provided with a sample of filament to try out, and because I was in a rush, I had just put the filament to the side, rather than on a spool. This allowed it to easily knot itself up and ultimately terminate my print job.

If you were to browse websites like Thingiverse, you would discover hundreds of filament spool holders, all of which are unique in their own right. However, none are as innovative, as comprehensive, and frankly quite as amazing as one which was just created by a company called CreativeTools, and its CEO Paulo Kiefe. Called the ‘Universal Stand-Alone Filament Spool Holder’, it is entirely 3D printable and its name simply does not do it justice.

spoolholder2

It is a fully rotating stand that can hold either spools of filament, or like in my aforementioned case, loose filament. It is designed to easily be created from only one material: 3D printer filament. “Every single component in this spool holder comes right from your 3D printer’s filament,” explained Kiefe. “Next time you need a new filament spool holder, just 3D print one!”

spoolholder6The spindle on the holder is specially shaped so that it can be used with virtually any filaments on the market today. It will work with spools that have shaft holes between 16 mm and 62 mm in diameter as well as unspooled filament coils. It features 3D printed roller wheels that are held in place by small clippings of filament. It also features a rather interesting filament filter, very similar to the “DIY Universal Filament Filter” that we reported on earlier in the month, which will allow you to ensure your filament is dust-free prior to it being extruded.  On top of this, also included is an arm for filament guide tubes of both the common filament sizes of 1.75 mm and 3.0 mm.

This is by far the most comprehensive filament holder I have ever seen, and the fact that it is entirely 3D printable makes it even better. I know I will certainly be printing one of these this weekend, so that I never again have to worry about my unspooled filament knotting itself up. What do you think? Have you printed out this filament holder? How does it work? Discuss in the Universal Filament Spool Holder forum thread on 3DPB.com.  You can download the files to 3D print your own Universal Filament holder on Thingiverse. Be sure to check out the video below, depicting all of the features on this device:

Share this Article


Recent News

APWORKS Expands Scalmalloy 3D Printing with Farsoon and CNPC Partnerships

Australia to Go Orbital: Gilmour Space Gears up for Historic Launch



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: November 10, 2024

We’ve got another busy week ahead of webinars and events around the world! There are multiple open houses and conferences, advanced AM training, a 3D printer launch event, our own...

Luxembourg’s AM 4 AM Lands €1.3M for 3D Printing Powder Push

Amid a surge in demand for high-performance metal powders for 3D printing, Luxembourg-based developer of 3D printing materials AM 4 AM closed a €1.3 million seed round to expand its production...

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: October 27, 2024

This week, Stratasys and Würth Additive Group continue their tours, and ICAM 2024 takes places in Atlanta, Georgia. Other offerings include an AM Symposium, webinars about 3D printing dental implants...

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: October 20, 2024

It’s another packed week of 3D printing webinars and events, focused on topics from industrial AM and investment casting to ceramics, customized medical solutions, quality and regulatory compliance, AM use...