Spool Cover for Enclosures with optional desiccant canisters
Description
I designed this cover after having left a spool of filament on the cover of my IKEA Lack printer enclosure for a few weeks while I was away working. Upon return, I discovered the spool of PETG had deteriorated somewhat, presumably from moisture absorption from the surrounding air. The cover is intended to be made from 4mm acrylic sheet and is a simple drop-over design, hopefully protecting the spool from fluctuations in temperature and humidity of the ambient air. Desiccant may be added inside the cover to maintain a low RH inside the cover if required. The framework is designed to cater for my IKEA Lack mounted spool holder, which sits on the lid of my Lack printer enclosure. (See photo). The cover dimensions are 272 x 224 x 280mm (X,Y & Z). Update. 26.01.19. I've assembled the cover and uploaded a photo of completed cover. Acrylic sheet was purchased from Simply Plastics (https://www.simplyplastics.com/catalog/sheet/extruded-acrylic-sheet/c-24/c-84) and cost just over 20 quid for the UK based folks.It was cut accurately and neatly to the above dimensions and I would highly recommend these people. Looking at the cover sat on the Lack, I think it needs a bit more "Finishing Off" so I'm thinking of designing a base trim to go around the lower edge where it sits on the Lack. Also I'm considering designing some desiccant holders to fit to the inside frame so I might modify the two corner frames behind the spool holder and perhaps some kind of locating frame so it sits on the Lack neatly rather than having it look like it's been thrown there. I'll upload once I've had a head-scratch. Update. 27.01.19. Desiccant canisters have been designed and built. They use the same mounting holes as the original vertical frame members so if you've already built one of these covers, they should retro fit no problem. The 20mm holes in the sides allow desiccant colour to be seen and allow reactivation if necessary. The canisters are charged and emptied of desiccant via a threaded plug in the base. The plug is removed with the aid of an 8mm Allen key. Update. 29.01.19. I've modified the desiccant fill plug (V2.1) as the hexagonal hole was too tight to fit the Allen key. It is now a 4.2mm radius Hexagon which when printed, fits the 8mm Allen key perfectly on my printed parts. I've left the old model file here too (V2.0), just in case other folk have different tolerances with their printers. Update. 27 May 19. I've added a funnel after I got fed up of vacuuming up lots of little orange balls of silica gel off the floor each time I changed out the desiccant. It screws in where the plug goes to aid filling. (And save vacuuming). Print funnel upside down. No support needed.
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