Rail Mount Filament Roll Holder

Rail Mounted Filament Roll Holder 

The Rail Mounted Filament Roll Holder is designed to allow for equal distribution of weight on the top rail and ensure the Z-axis/gantry is not under any weight stress with a roll holder mounted with it’s weight on the side of the gantry. 
Due to the horizontal nature of the filament orientation, the roll holder allows for saving space especially if you want to use your 3D printer in an enclosure or have printers in a print farm stacked on shelves. 
The Rail Mount filament roll holder operates by rotating a roll holder on three bearings via a circular track on the underside. This track ensures the roll holder stays in position and provides smooth roll rotation upon extruder operation.
Filament position is secured by a guard that allows for minimal space between the Filament Guide Wheel and the guard, this allows for the filament to stay in between the wheel and guard even when Z-axis moves up and down.

Print Settings:

Material: PLA @ 35% infill*
Nozzle Temperature: 215°C 
Print Bed Temp: 65°C
Print Speed: 50mm/s
Z-Height: 0.1mm – 0.15mm
Support: Yes – best to use Normal.

*PETG is advised for better strength and temperature tolerance, ensure you adjust your nozzle and bed temperature.

Materials:

Cap Head/Hex Bolt M5x10mm (Qty x3)

Drop in Tee Nut M5 (Qty x3)

608-RS/608ZZ Bearings, Dimensions: 8mmx22mmx7mm (Qty x4)

O-rings 6mm or 7mm (Qty x8)

Instructions:

1/ Print the Top Rail Mount first and then print 4x Bearing Axle – 7.4mm. Remove any supports printed.

2/ Upon completion of the bearing axles, you will need three of them to complete the Top Rail Mount assembly. There are three bearing holders located 120° apart, one by one gently place an end of the bearing axle through the hole of a bearing holder until it is visible on the exit of the first side of the bearing holder.

3/ Take an O-ring and place it so that it slides over the top of the bearing axle and will keep the bearing axle in place without it falling out of the bearing holder. Now place a 608 bearing after the first O-ring and gently push the bearing axle through until you start to see it appear on the other side of the bearing. Slide the second O-ring in place where the bearing axle is showing at the exit side of the bearing hole and gently push the bearing axle so that the second O-ring slides on. Once you have the second O-ring in place, gently guide the bearing axle into the second hole of the bearing axle holder. If this step is done correctly you should see the following arrangement: 
Bearing Holder Side 1: O-ring #1 : Bearing : O-ring #2 : Bearing Holder Side 2.

4/ Repeat Steps 2-4 for the remaining bearing holders.

5/ Print Roll Holder. Remove any supports printed – ensure you are gentle when removing supports from the bottom so that the track is not damaged in the process.

6/ Place the Roll Holder on the Top Rail Mount ensuring the track is positioned with the bearings in the center of the track.

7/ Print the Filament Guide and Bearing – Wheel part.

8/ Install a 608 bearing into the Bearing – Wheel part, you will need to use a little force to fit it in. Apply a similar process to step 3 when installing the last bearing axle for the filament guide – this will allow the filament guide wheel to remain centered via use of O-rings.

9/ Fasten the Top Rail Mount and the Filament Guide to the top rail using Cap Head/Hex Bolt M5x10mm (Qty x3) and Drop in Tee Nut M5 (Qty x3).

10/ You should now have a fully assembled Top Rail Mount Filament Roll Holder.