Another roll of 3D printing filament is finished, and you’re wondering what to do with it. You look around your workspace, and your heart sinks because you’re completely surrounded by empty spool bins already. You were planning to print a new drawer to store spools, but there’s no more space left.
You’re left with the question: What does one do with their spools when they have more empty spool drawers than they can really justify?
Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered with 10 of the most creative uses for empty spools. From storage options to a filament spool garden, these options will inspire you to reuse and recycle your old spools in new ways. Regardless of complexity, all of these projects are inventive ideas that will make good use of empty spools. Let’s get started!
Stackable Garden
Using old plastic to grow plants (particularly edible ones) is one of the best ways to reuse empty spools. Imagine turning your old spools into a herb garden in your kitchen! These planters are functional, space-efficient, suitable for a variety of plants with different sun exposure requirements, and good-looking good to boot. They will work for small plants indoors and out with the right material selection.
Be warned though, the files posted by twiesner are specifically designed for Meltink3D spools, and may need to be remixed for other filament manufacturers. You will also need quite a large print bed (225 x 145 x 150 mm). The designer encourages remixing to solve these challenges, so if you do happen to modify the files, be sure to share them!
Check out our ultimate guide to materials to select the right plastic for this project. A leaky pot in the kitchen or one that crumbles from UV exposure won’t bring you much joy.
- Difficulty: Easy, depending on your brand of filament and how green your thumbs are
- Number of spools: One per layer of planters
- Who designed it? twiesner
- Where to find it? Instructables, MyMiniFactory
Magnet Fishing Reel
If you live in an urban area, you’ve probably noticed garbage in the local waterways. It can be a good idea to use a strong magnet to retrieve these items for further recycling or reuse, a hobby dubbed magnet fishing. Of course, you’re going to want to tie that magnet to a long length of cord and then wind it up! Enter the magnet fishing reel by Hammerdan8617.
The project requires a fair bit of additional hardware but leaves you with a handy reel that can be used anywhere. Watch your print settings for the axle, as the reel can come under quite a bit of force if you’re trying to recover a large item.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Number of spools: One per reel
- Who designed it? Hammerdan8617
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Dual Spool Cord Wrap
This cable wrap lets you wrap cords around an empty spool (a storage solution we can highly recommend). This is perfect for extension cords or Christmas lights. It also stores more cable than most commercially available versions and uses up those pesky spools! The convenient cable clips fit into the spool adapters and keep the ends from tangling or unraveling. This model has been remixed several times to fit different manufacturers’ spools.
The project is super simple and self-explanatory, so enough said! The handle and the back plate are large flat items, so they may be easier to cut out of acrylic, plywood, or sheet metal if you don’t have a large print bed.
- Difficulty: Easy, with long print times and possible warping issues
- Number of spools: Two per reel
- Who designed it? AndrewRoth
- Where to find it? Printables
Stool
Your toddler has a tea party planned (possibly by yourself) in a few days, but you’re short on chairs. Never fear, re-purpose that stack of empty spools into toddler stools!
These stools are simple to make, although they do need some additional screws, and you’ll need to find your own legs of the correct diameter. The print comes with feet if you’re using hollow tubes, but if you go with dowels, you will either need to buy some feet or design your own (or go without). Just be careful about how much weight you’re putting on this, we don’t recommend using it to support an adult’s weight!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Number of spools: One per stool
- Who designed it? Imprenta3D
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Vertical Parts Drawer
This is a parts organizer, but instead of the standard stack of drawers, you get an expanded Rolodex-style parts storage system that will allow you to quickly and easily find paperclips and other supplies.
There are two files in the build, and the good news is they’re SCAD files, allowing you to quickly customize any dimension to match your spools. The bad news is that they’re SCAD, meaning you need to know how to use that program (unless the Thingiverse customizer works for you).
The prints are not very challenging, but you’ll need a print bed larger than 200 mm. The prints have adjustable tolerances, and you’ll need to know your printer to determine how tight these should be.
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Number of spools: One bin per set
- Who designed it? 3d-printy
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Miniature Display
If you print a lot of miniatures, you’re probably using a resin printer that doesn’t use spools. But maybe you’re just dipping your toes into the world of miniatures, or you’ve refined your FDM process to make great miniatures (yes it’s definitely possible). If that’s the case, you might have a stack of empty spools and some prized miniatures, and this project is perfect for you!
The spools form the structural element of the stand, and you add parts to match the theme of your miniatures. The project includes a base, but there’s also a remix for a ball-bearing base. The height of your minis will be limited by the width of your spools, though if you have some particularly large miniatures, we’d love to see a 3 kg spool remix!
This is primarily a cosmetic print, and you’ll want to use smaller layers and paint the prints appropriately to best complement your miniature collection. Also, we hope you like dusting!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Number of spools: Depends on how many minis you have
- Who designed it? mysterme
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Random Decision Wheel
Do you need something to make random choices for you, but you’ve lost your magic eightball? We have the solution for you! Based on the game show The Price is Right, this random decision wheel will come in handy next time you’re feeling indecisive. You simply pre-load it with paper slips for the outputs you want to randomize.
The files are SCAD, and very customizable. The overall model doesn’t use heaps of filament, so it’s unlikely to net you another empty spool. Seriously though, the printing is fairly straightforward, but the assembly is somewhat tricky. It requires threading some spare filament through the prints to tie the whole thing together.
Wheel Assembly
This axle and bracket system will help you create wheels out of empty spools. The project calls for dowels to act as axles, but really any cylindrical object of sufficient strength will suffice, including broom handles.
Be sure not to overload wheels made from spools. They can and do break, particularly when exposed to side loading, such as during cornering! We recommend against riding in this cart for safety purposes, although if you want to see a similar project in action, check out Chep’s Spool Racer.
Most of the project involves woodworking, but you’ll be left with a functional cart for use around the garden or home. Plus, 3D printing and woodworking complement each other very nicely!
Parametric Cable Organizer
More cables, more problems. If you’re looking to clean up your workspace, here’s a project that will help you organize all of your smaller cables in one easy location.
The print involves cards that slip into slots, and the cables wrap around the cards. The setup is simple and would lend itself to a ball-bearing base. The Printables page for this project includes excellent instructions!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Number of spools: One per organizer (around 10 cables depending on what they are)
- Who designed it? ChrisBorge
- Where to find it? Printables
DIY Lamp
If you’re into a certain aesthetic, you may like to display some of your empty spool art. This is where adding a lamp to your empty spools can really shine. cSandra has an excellent project for turning your empty spool into a stylish and contemporary lamp using a hinge.
In addition to a 3D printer, some filament, and your empty spool, you’ll need sandpaper, a drill, a step or spade drill bit, a hot glue gun, masking tape, and an LED sewing machine light strip kit.
- Difficulty: Hard
- Number of spools: One
- Who designed it? cSandra
- Where to find it? Instructables
Bonus: New Filament
It’s generally very difficult to send your spools for recycling. So, if you’re flush with cash, why not close the loop and set up a recycling facility?
As shown by Filabot, most spools can be recycled into filament. Most manufacturers use different grades and types of plastic, so you would need to work out a way to determine what’s what.
The Filabot full setup (the machines, not the workshop) will set you back around $18,500, which is much more than most people could justify for just a few spools. Other suppliers of plastic recycling equipment are similarly expensive, with a precious plastic shredder and extruder costing around $2,500 for materials alone. Once you put the time into welding, machining, and wiring up the components and adding the necessary quality controls, you’re starting to get close to the Filabot cost anyway.
Despite the high cost and effort required, if a large enough group or club of 3D printing enthusiasts join forces or you’re operating a print farm, then recycling your spools starts to become viable. Remember, the setup can be configured for multiple different polymers with just an (albeit fairly complex) clean between runs.
License: The text of "What to Do with Empty Filament Spools: 10 Cool Ideas" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.