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This is an adapter you can slide into a BambuLab Spool to make it compatible with FormFutura's ReFill spoolless filaments (750 grams). They have there own master spool but I don't want to make yet another spool if I already have perfectly fine BambuLab spools.

The spoolless filament has two problems that need to be addressed. It has a larger inner diameter and is also narrower.

To fix the first problem, I made an axial adapter that you can slide into the BambuLab spool to bridge the gap between the outer spool diameter and the inner filament diameter. I added guiding slots for the tie wraps of the filament to be pushed in place. There are also holes for the end of the filament to go through to grab on when the filament is almost depleted. For ease of use, I added a circle marking to mark where the peg slot is on the other side of the adapter.

To fix the second problem, I made a filament pusher that you can insert into the side of the adapter to bridge the gap between the second part of the spool and the side of the filament. Without this part, the filament untangles loosely to the diameter of the adapter and increases tension during spooling/unspooling, which means a higher chance for the filament to break. This does mean that the spool weight will not be evenly distributed. But I don't think this will be much of a problem in both the AMS as well as other means.

How to use

The inner part of the adapter is made to be the same as a BambuLab spoolless filament. If you know how to insert one of those, the adapter is basically the same with the added benefit of a circle marking on the other side of the adapter, to help you guide the adapter onto the peg of the spool. After that, you can start from step 6 below on how to insert the filament and the filament pusher.

If you don't know how to insert a BambuLab spoolless filament or you like overdescriptive steps, follow from step 1 below:

1. Open the BambuLab spool into its corresponding two parts.
2. Lay the taller part flat. The part without the filament sticker.
3. Rotate the spool until you find a small peg sticking out between the spool side wall and the outer diameter of the spool.
4. Slide the adapter into the spool. The small circle marking should be up.
5. Rotate the adapter until the circle marking aligns with the small peg on the spool and the adapter sits flush with the spool.
6. Insert the filament by guiding the tie wraps between the slots on the outer side of the adapter. While inserting the filament find the end of the actual filament and insert it into one of the three filament grabbing holes.
7. Find and insert the start of the actual filament into the side holes so the filament doesn't untangle on you when cutting the tie wraps.
8. Cut the tie wraps. Since you have now cut the tie wraps, make sure you don't touch the filament too much and start untangling it by accident.
9. Align and push the filament pusher into the adapter, using the tie wrap slots of the adapter as guides. Make sure the flat side of the filament pusher is facing the filament.
10. Close the spool with the other part of the spool. While closing, it should push the filament pusher guiding slides in slightly so its nice and snug.

Changelog

Update 2023-09-12

The following changes have been made:

• Version 1.7 was an internal version that was never released publicly.
• Adapter v1.8:
  • No changes.
• Filament Pusher V1.8:
  • Changed peg length from 10 mm to 12 mm to have a tighter push against the filament.
  • Added additional pegs around the outer diameter for more stability.

Update 2023-08-30

The following changes have been made:

• Updated the description above to be more to-the-point.
• The step files have been split into two files instead of the previous one file.
• I no longer recommend using the adapter without the filament pusher. The filament might break without the filament pusher because the filament untangles into a smaller diameter and increases filament tension.
• Adapter v1.6:
  • Print settings have been updated to reduce filament usage of the adapter by about 26% (see updated settings in the description). I opted for support cubic as infill pattern instead of 3D honeycomb, because the adapter is round and thus inherently strong enough without much infill necessary. Support cubic is the best in saving filament short of using lightning infill (which might work but more testing is necessary).
  • Reduced the outer diameter slightly for a better filament insertion. I was having a hard time pushing PETG through the adapter.
  • Changed model orientation to be in the printing orientation.
  • Removed the finger cutouts because they seem unnecessary and reduces model complexity. The adapter can be easily removed by pulling it out without the finger cutouts. If you feel this is a mistake, please let me know.
  • Removed a few chamfers to prevent the filament from getting in between the adapter and the spool.
  • The peg slot is now the proper matching shape instead of a rectangular cutout.
  • The shape of the filament end grabbing holes have been made oval to prevent the layer lines from pushing it too narrow during printing.
• Filament Pusher v1.6:
  • The support of the three guiding slides have made more round, which should look cleaner and be slightly stronger.

Update 2023-02-18

The following changes have been made:

• Added print recommended settings for low filament usage.