July 4, 2026
Description
This driven gear is replacing the stock qidibox spool gear. No longer rely on a pen spring for operation! This uses a HF0306 one-way bearing to function identically as the OEM gear but more reliable rewinding of the spool (and no more click-click when loading). This is currently in testing but working well enough to release as have had no issues. Please leave feedback if it worked for you and any suggested improvements.
This is completely reversable as only have to go back to the old gear if it does not work for you. Only need four bearings and four standard 3mm washers (.5mm thick).
Source for bearings (what I am using): https://www.ebay.com/itm/391713128148
Cheaper source from Ali (mine are delayed in shipping so can not attest to these but are a match): https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803826490260.html
update 1/28/26 - received the bearings from ali and are an exact match for the bearings I prototyped with so good option for much less money.
update 3/3/26 - just an update that I now have over 200 hours of box prints and still rolling. Another tester has over 1000 filament changes with the one-way gears and working fine as well. Looking good!
update 4/4/26 - no reports of issues and still working fine in my qidibox. The axle rod does seem to be just fine with the bearing and helps that this is a pretty low-torque system so negligible wear. Yay! Thanks to all that have installed and tested for me!
update 7/3/26 - removing the beta tag as this has worked fine for over 6 months at this point for me and have not had any reports that would warrant a redesign. Yay!
The reason this is a beta is due to having to rely on the stock 3mm rod they use for the drive assy. I do not know the hardness or roundness of the rods in all the boxes. It works for me but over time if this rod is too soft it will begin to slip... how long that is gonna be is anyones guess (maybe never?) and why I am releasing as I need people to put some time on this solution and let me know. There are other designs in the works that use a more robust bearing that does not rely on the shaft at all.. will be a more bullet-proof design (downside is the bearings cost more than the ones used on this gear).
A well-calibrated printer and tuned filament is a must!
Print settings used on Orca:
Print gear flat-face down x4 and spacers x4
Arachne
.4mm nozzle and .2 LH
0.38 Default, Outer wall, Inner wall line widths (all others at default)
Random Seam
4 walls
5 top and bottom
25% TPMS-D infill
No supports needed
I use ASA and PC-blend in prototyping and no guarantees with other softer materials.
You may need to increase the fidelity when orca imports the step so the model's teeth generate well. I set linear deflection to .001 and angle deflection to .20 and the gear prints nicely.
** NOTE: You need to make sure you install the bearing in the proper direction into the gear. If holding the drive assy as it is in the box looking down at it the bearing needs to lock when spun towards you and spin free as you spin it away from you. If you get this wrong then it will not work properly! The bearings I used have writing on one side and that side needs to be inserted into the gear first if like mine.
Use ISO-68 (or equiv) oil and use sparingly as only a small drop is needed. Do NOT use any teflon/ptfe based lubricants.
The model has two holes you can use two 2.5x8 screws to extract the bearing from the gear if needed. Also made an install tool for you as the bearing will fit very tight into the gear and needs to be.
Curious to see how this works out for people as I don't use the box enough to give it a proper long term test.
Video in action:
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial — Share Alike
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