This doesn’t look healthy. There was no spindle in the A1 Mini box. Should I buy one? If so where?
Indeed.
Should I buy a spindle? I didn’t see any on Bambu Store.
Or should I print one? If so, which one?
Nothing appears to be missing for the external spool holder. Your photo looks similar to what came with my printer.
Some people have made adapters to add roller bearings or to use a hub from the AMS Lite. Search in MakerWorld for “external spool adapter”.
Note that the AMS Lite hub can have issues with some filament brands’ spools. I have at least one spool where the hub diameter is too small for the AMS Lite.
That is the external spool holder, you have everything you should have, and nothing is missing.
They have always been something of a simple design. This is true on the P and X series of printers that have an even more basic design of their external spool holders.
So as it sits it’s ok? I’m not a mechanical engineer, but the feeder motor for the filament must be stressed? I can’t imagine it will be long before it burns out.
I rotate/turn the spool by hand when the machine is not working, and it’s got a fair bit of resistance. Look at how taught the filament is in my photo.
It is fine.
I use mine to attach TPU, which is a soft material and even that doesn’t stress it out. It doesn’t cause any issues in the print, doesn’t snag, all is good.
TPU would snap if there is an issue.
Trust me, you have what you need.
You may have seen the AMS lite, it has cylinders which lock into place inside the hole within most spools. That is used as it has motors to push and pull the filament as required during multiple swaps. When you are using an external spool, the only action is drag.
Some add a different type of spindle with metal bearings. I have been 3D printing for many years and have never used or required one.
On an old 3D printer that had a rougher surface spindle, I placed a toilet roll tube over the spindle. The cardboard acted as a simple ‘slip’ device, old school for old times.
I had one of my moments I was talking about.
OP, yes you’re fine as the Oracle has pronounced.
Ok I’ll try to forget about it. Thanks for the replies.
Myself, I printed this.
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No spindle with the standalone A1 mini - cardboard spools like the one you show will simply fall off the holder when only a small amount of filament remains - I made a glue on spool widener to fix the issue