Spool Organization Ideas

Hey everyone. Now with a few miles (1 year) under belt with my Taz, I’ve got a growing collection of filament spools being collected (various color, material, etc.). I’ve got them all packed in poor fitting air tight containers. It’s becoming quiet a mess. I’m looking for some clever ideas and some inspiration from others. I have some thoughts, but figured this must be a common problem and would like to tap the collective wisdom of (by nature) a creative group of problem solvers :wink:

This is about the best idea I have seen so far. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2009550

That or using them to make tiny water wheels for squirrels.

Ok that’s very cool indeed and I will need to borrow that design. love it.

My bad though – i’m looking for ideas on how to keep spools (with filament) accessible, organized, clutter free, and out of the way. My current method of bins under desk is sub par. At the very least, I wonder if anyone has found a better bin :wink:

Here’s the solution I settled upon:
https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/filament-storage/2871/6

But I have found filament storage to be like closets… Contents seem to constantly grow to exceed available space. :smiley:

I’m still using a 5 gallon plastic bucket with the screw-on lid (mentioned in the post Scott linked - more detail on the bucket method and making your own desiccant packs here). A bucket will hold five 1kg spools.

When our filament storage needs expand, I’ll switch to the tupperware container Scott is using. Note that there are a couple of different sizes of containers that are close, but the one Scott found seems to be the best fit for standard 1 kg spools.

BTW, I can report that the homemade desiccant packs made from Fresh Step Crystals work very well (see description I linked above). The idea detailed in that thread of weighing them after drying them out is a good one. That way there is no guesswork about whether it’s time to dry them back out again.


As you can see. 9 rolls of filament and a plug in Eva-Dry desiccant.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-22-in-Pro-Tool-Box-Black-222570/205440481Home Depot toolbox, airtight with gasket and two latches.

My PrintDry filament dehydrator attached straight to my Lulzbot.