Hello, 3D Printing Friends! Today on the BV3D Channel, we'll get a look at
this sweet 3D printed bit of Machinery! I'm Bryan, and you... are watching BV3D!
Hi, welcome back! This episode is sponsored by PCBWay. More about them in just a bit.
Okay, so today I want to show you this mechanical marvel by Miklos Kiszely. This is a beautiful
piece of engineering with herringbone gears, worm gears, and rack-and-pinion steering, and you'll
get to see it in action in just a minute. It's glorious!
Okay, so one of the issues with the Bambu Lab Automatic Material System, or AMS, is that
it's not compatible with every single filament spool currently in production on planet Earth.
It's compatible with a LOT of them, don't get me wrong, but not ALL of them. For example,
several filament manufacturers have switched to using cardboard spools, in response to a community
push for more eco-friendly packaging. And for the record, I'm happy they've done that. But Bambu
Lab cautions that cardboard dust could build up in the AMS and cause issues. Despite this,
I and many other people have been using filament with cardboard spools in our AMS units anyway.
But sometimes the AMS can't rewind the spools properly. It can't get a grip on the
outer edge of the spool to roll it back. Sometimes you can solve that problem by
printing a thin plastic rim that you could just snap onto those spools. And that works great,
and can sometimes even help cardboard spools that have a slightly damaged rim.
With cardboard spools used by PolyMaker, I found a really clever hack for those. Now,
not everybody knows this, but the Bambu Lab spools are refillable. Give them a twist to unlock them,
and you can load in a refill. So with the PolyMaker cardboard spools, you can rip the
sides off, and mount the filament, cardboard hub and all, in a standard Bambu Lab spool.
But sometimes the problem with a spool isn't that it's made out of cardboard. Sometimes the
spool is bent, or broken, or otherwise damaged. And sometimes, the problem is that it's just too
big to fit in the AMS. Maybe it's too wide, or maybe it's too tall, or maybe it's both. I run
into that with Jessie filament spools from Printed Solid. Their plastic spools were a little bit too
big to fit, and when they switched to cardboard spools--which are really nicely done, by the
way--those were the same dimensions as the plastic ones. So those won't fit in the AMS either.
So how do we solve that problem? Find out, right after this.
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and even injection molding. Using PCBWay is easy. Just upload your PCB files or 3D models,
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few samples, and I gotta say, these circuit board rulers and coasters are freaking amazing. And the
clear resin prints of the PCBWay logo? These are 100% crystal clear. So whether you need PCBs,
machining services, or even something printed in a specialty material your printer can't handle,
PCBWay can do that for you. Check them out at pcbway.com. There's a coupon code
in the description, so be sure to check that out too. And now, back to the video!
So I have a lot of Printed Solid Jessie filament, and those spools won't fit in the AMS. And I have
a lot of Proto-Pasta filament, which also comes on cardboard spools that don't easily fit the
AMS. But thanks to Miklos Kiszely's [takes deep breath] "Bambu Lab P1 / X1 / X1C / X1CC Filament
Spool Switcher and Winder if you use AMS" ...boy, that's a mouthful... I can now use it in all my
AMS units. Here, I'll transfer a new 500 gram spool of Proto Pasta so you can see it in action.
There is a printable "donor spool holder" included in the files, but I already had this one,
so that's what I'll use. With the Proto-Pasta on the spool holder, feed the filament through the
guide tube, and then load an empty Bambu Lab spool on the winder. I did drill a small hole
near the edge of the hub on the Bambu Lab spool, just so I'd have a place to anchor the incoming
filament. So I'll get that hooked in there, and then it's just a matter of cranking this handle to
get the filament transferred from the Proto-Pasta spool to the Bambu spool. A very clever mechanism
guides the filament back and forth to help ensure even winding from side to side on the Bambu spool.
Doing this by hand only takes a few minutes, and you can speed it up even more by using
the included drill adapter. But I don't mind doing it by hand. If you want to build this,
you'll need to print out the parts, of course. And you'll also need a short length of PTFE tubing
to use as a guide tube. And you'll need four M3x6 screws, and seven 608 bearings. Those are
the bearings commonly used on skateboards and in fidget spinners. As a convenience,
there's a link to those in the description. Miklos has some excellent assembly, usage,
and troubleshooting videos on the model's Printables page, so if you're running into issues,
they've got you covered. And by the way, you can re-spool onto any plastic spool that fits in the
AMS. You don't have to use a Bambu spool. I'm just using that because I have them,
and I know they work. The one I just did is Proto-Pasta Nebula Multi-color. I've also
re-spooled some Proto-Pasta Nebula Silk Silver, some Jessie Neon Green, and some Purple Ice.
And of course this is also a great way to transfer filament from a broken or damaged spool
to a good one, no matter what printer you use. So I have to say I love this design, and I love,
Love, LOVE these gears. To me, regular gears are cool, but these herringbone gears are like next
level. And that mechanism that moves the guide tube is genius! I previously did some preliminary
work on designing a motorized respooler, and using a servo-controlled mechanism to move a guide tube,
but this thing doesn't need any electronics. It's purely mechanical. Anyway, please go
check out Miklos's model on Printables. There's a link in the description. And
if you print it, post a "Make" there. As always, big thanks to everyone who
supports the channel, whether through Channel memberships, or by using the links in the
description. If you liked this episode, give it a thumbs up, and maybe consider
subscribing so you don't miss future episodes. Well, 3D Printing Friends, that's about all
the time we have for this episode. And now that we're at the endm let's go print something cool!