8mm and 16mm Manual Cine Film Winder

This is geared manual winder for 8mm or 16mm cine film. It is designed to attach to the end of a 2020 aluminium extrusion, or can be screwed down to a piece of wood using the 3d printed stand. It can be used for rewinding film after scanning, reeling exposed film onto larger reels for archiving, or in the dark room for spooling small amounts of unexposed film from bulk rolls.

The winder is geared 1:3 – so for each turn of the handle, the film spool turns three times. Bearings are used for smooth running. The bearings, gears and spool holder run on 5mm diameter axles.

Two spool holders are provided. One is designed for 16mm film, but can also be quickly adapted for Standard 8mm or Super 8mm film spools using a spacer. An alternative is designed just for 8mm film – standard 8mm or Super 8 using a centre adapter. A threaded knob clamps the spool securely.

If you use just 8mm film, then print the 8mm spool holder. If only 16mm, you don’t need the 8mm spacer disk.

Printing

STL files are provided that group components together in the expected printing orientation. You can use the ‘Split to Objects’ button in PrusaSlicer to separate them. Step files are provided if you would like to amend the parts.

I printed the parts in PLA. For strength 2 outer perimeters, 25% cubic infill. The only part needing support is the handle knob, which stands upright. For the outer shell I used ABS, but that’s what I had loaded on the printer, but PLA is fine, as should be PETG.

A PDF is included with full build instructions and list of additional hardware that's needed to build.