Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
I'm running side-mounted filament spools using a simple adapter I found here that uses the factory Prusa filament spool mount. The person who made the adapter also provided an stl for a little plastic loop, mounted in the hex hole on top of the Z axis, to guide the filament over the Z axis tower and down to the extruder. Problem is, on faster prints with a lot of X-axis movement, this guide was causing drag that would sometimes result in feed issues or even layer shift.
I wanted something smoother, preferably using ball bearings. I drew up this little filament guide that mounts right in the same hex hole on the top of the Z axis towers. It uses two very common 5mm ID x 11mm OD x 4mm wide bearings (very common in hobby RC cars, which is why I had them). It prints as three parts, which are the guide itself and two axles. Once printed, you just position the bearings in place and then secure them by sliding the axles into the assembly.
Filament glides through this mount with ease, and it looks kinda cool too 🙂
RE: Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
This is exactly what I've been looking for. Do you have an stl for this?
RE: Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
Nice job. I like the way the filament guide mounts without the need of additional hardware. I came up with a similar solution that uses a length of teflon tube rather than bearings. I've been using it on my two machines for the past year or two with absolute success.
https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/118502-prusa-i3-mk3-mk3s-175mm-filament-feed-guide-for-3d
RE: Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
After many many many hours of use, there is an issue with my design. Over time, the filament eventually cuts a groove into the side of the bearing holder, then the filament ends up getting jammed in this groove against the side of the bearing.
The teflon tube idea is great, I think I am going to try that, thanks!!!
Here's a pic of one of my guides showing the grooves that wear into the sides.
Nice job. I like the way the filament guide mounts without the need of additional hardware. I came up with a similar solution that uses a length of teflon tube rather than bearings. I've been using it on my two machines for the past year or two with absolute success.
https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/118502-prusa-i3-mk3-mk3s-175mm-filament-feed-guide-for-3d
RE: Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
Sorry, here's the picture without having to click on the attachment. You can see the grooves on each side of the bearing. It cuts into the 'front' side facing the screen, so when one side got bad I spun it around and used it until the other side also got bad.
RE: Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
Printed this out and it did work well, however I wasn't comfortable with how much resistance there was pulling the filament through the PTFE tube. Didn't have any issues, just personal preference.
Nice job. I like the way the filament guide mounts without the need of additional hardware. I came up with a similar solution that uses a length of teflon tube rather than bearings. I've been using it on my two machines for the past year or two with absolute success.
https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/118502-prusa-i3-mk3-mk3s-175mm-filament-feed-guide-for-3d
RE: Simple Ball Bearing Side-Mount Filament Guide
The resistance is minimal (it's effectively a very short bowden tube) and the teflon tubing hasn't had any negative effects on the quality of printed models or 3D printing equipment after years of continued successful use. I've come to aim for simplicity and avoid moving parts where possible, but personal preference contributes to making life interesting and I was happy to see your new and updated bearing based design. Looks good and I hope it works out well.