Cell Spool Winder

Another spool winder…

Looks like the life with AMS needs a spool winder on weekly basis for me. I searched on several libraries and I found only two distinct types of winders. First type: complicate solutions, functioning almost OK - but watching some 15 episodes on YouTube to learn the assembly process was not for me.

The second type: winders made just to destroy good spools of material - I have seen some really poor design solutions.

Quite surprised to not have a decent simple and compact solution available! This was enough to mobilize me to design a new solution. I will jump over the part where I make a video on YouTube with my silly face to show the greatest spool winder ever made, let's go directly to the details:

- One piece mainframe, easy print, two additional feet for stabilization.

- Two main gears. With the coupled 5 step/direction worm-gear, the mechanism produces 33 rotations - one full line in the target spool - for every 5 rotations of the worm-gear. One direction completed, the worm-gear changes the winding direction, another 33 rotations on the target spool and so on.

- Two assembled axis. Central shaft, two threaded flanges. Easy print too.

- A few small parts - retaining clips, one worm-gear reader.

- A handle for manual respooling. Please mind the arrow, to be assembled as in the given picture. Optional set of complementary flanges for spools with very large inner diameters given as STLs only. Print these only if you have such spools.  

- A ½" drive lever or a ¼" (hex) nimbus to be coupled to a drilling machine might be useful tools for faster respooling.

I did quite some fancy voronisation ("cellular structure" looking like webs) to camouflage the simplicity of the design. And to save some material.

I use mainly ABS and the defined tolerances in the given parts are for ABS. I highly advice ABS or ASA, there are other good options but I did not test anything except ABS. Around 750g of material necessary including the optional parts. 

Once the job is done, without spools, with the handle and the feet dismounted and placed inside, the winder has practically the size of a filament box, it can be easily stored in a reduced volume. 

Printing time around two days, assembly time 5 minutes - quick video below. Assembly instructions also provided.

In the assembly instructions there is also a set of detailed indications provided by the colleague chronos00  - I am really grateful for the help!   

Re-spooling: turn the gears until the worm gear reader goes to one extreme position. Fix the filament on the same extreme side on the target spool. Wind the first few loops with slow speed.  Engage!

Happy winding :)

A two minutes re-spooling. The specific noise is the desiccant looping in the desiccant tower inside the Cell Spool.

Based on a few repeated requests I have created two variants that might have a few advantages, if interested please check and:

https://makerworld.com/en/models/604481-spool-winder-split-base#profileId-527156 - this variant has a print profile for A1 mini too. 

https://makerworld.com/en/models/1894864-cell-winder-supersized-edition#profileId-2030082 - for large 3kg / 5kg spools. 

The "cell" spool: 

https://makerworld.com/en/models/565057#profileId-484654

 Marathon re-spooling with the large variant:
 

01.08.2025 - Having now this model for one year on Makerworld, I have to thank everyone for the very good ideas I have received. I am grateful for the great feedback! I have incorporated some of these ideas in updated variants - all now implemented in the available printing profile. Many thanks again to everyone who has contribute for this release!