Spooler Smart

Spooler measures and dispenses cable, keeps track of your stock and records the history of the measurements. You control it from an app for Android or Apple. You print most of the parts on a 3D printer; the rest are turned and laser-cut parts, threaded inserts and bought components such as screws and washers. You can print in ASA-CF or in material of the Spectrum brand. You can buy the electronics and the turned and laser-cut parts in the e-shop.

The spool has a guide of its own and is built separately.

You can buy the electronics (the assembled control board, the display and the sensor) ready-made in our e-shop, as well as the turned and laser-cut parts.

What you will need

All STL models (ZIP) (3.6 MB) · 🔒 after you buy the guide

Threaded inserts

Most joints use plastic threaded inserts (M3, M4, M5, M6). Press them in before you screw the parts together, always into the part named in the drawing next to the insert. The numbers are given with each assembly below.

Next you build the head, the rollers, the body and wire the electronics.

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Read this page before you start printing and assembling. It saves you the most common mistakes.

Material and printing

• Material: ASA-CF, or a Spectrum material.
• Print area: the model is made for a 256 x 256 mm bed. Larger parts are split with dovetail joints so they fit smaller printers. The side does not fit on a 256 x 256 mm bed in one piece, it is printed in parts.
• Threaded inserts: most joints use plastic inserts (M3, M4, M5, M6). Put them in before you screw the parts together, always into the part named in the drawing next to that insert.
• Parts that are not printed: the rollers and the axis are turned on a lathe, the spool sides are laser cut. You can buy them ready-made in the e-shop.

How to read the guide

• Order: the chapters follow the order of assembly. Each step starts with the list of parts and purchased components it needs.
• Part names (for example 02-01-020a-ROLL) are the same in the text, in the bill of materials and in the STL file names. You can always find a part by its name.
• The bill of materials is at the start of the guide: what to buy and how many. Each step repeats the quantities.

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The head measures the length of the cable. The cable passes between a knurled wheel with a magnet and a pressure roller. The AS5600 sensor reads the rotation of the magnet.

1. Base, display, sensor and button

1. Screw the display on with four 2.2x5 screws.
2. Screw the AS5600 board on with four 2.2x5 screws so that it lies above the axis of the wheel with the magnet.
3. Put the button into the bottom hole and tighten the nut.

2. The pressure clamp

1. Press two M3 inserts into the base.
2. Screw 02-01-015-PUSHER-CLAMP on with two M3x10 screws. Do not tighten the clamp fully yet, the pusher goes in under it.

3. The pusher

1. Put both 624-2Z bearings into PUSH-CYLINDER and push the 4x40 axis through the fork of the pusher.
2. Put the spring on the pin of the pusher.
3. Press the M6 insert into SPRING HOUSING and screw in the M6x20. The screw sets the force of the pressure.
4. Put the whole assembly under PUSHER-CLAMP and tighten the clamp.

4. The encoder wheel with the magnet

1. Put the magnet into MAGNET-HOLDER.
2. Put a bearing, the SPACER and the second bearing into the wheel.
3. Push the M4x40 through and secure it with the self-locking M4 nuts. The wheel must turn without play.
4. Put the assembly into the base so that the magnet faces the AS5600 board.

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The rollers carry the spool: the spool sides sit in them and the spool turns on them. They are the same in both versions of the device. There are eight in every device. One assembly is made of an aluminium axis, two 608 bearings and two rollers, so the device needs four assemblies, that is four axes. The axis is turned, 71 mm long, with an M8 thread 15 mm long at both ends.

What you will need

Assembly

1. Fit the washers and bearings

On each end of the axis put a washer 8x12 and a washer 8x16, then a bearing 608-2RS.

2. Fit the rollers

Put a roller ROLL on each bearing. The roller must turn freely on the bearing.

3. Secure with the screws

Secure the assembly from both sides with an M8x20 screw into the thread at the end of the axis.

Putting it into the body

4. Put the assembly into the arm

Put the finished assembly into the arm as in the picture. Check that both rollers turn freely.

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The body is made of two halves of the arms with a base, a front part and holders. The procedure has five steps.

1. The battery holder

1. Press the M3 inserts into the arm.
2. Screw the battery holder on.
3. Glue or secure the battery cables (see the chapter Electronics) and put the lid on.

2. The latch

1. Press in two M4 inserts.
2. Put 02-01-061-CLIP_BASE-M4-assy and the latch K2469 in place and screw them on with two M4x10 screws.

3. The arms with the board

1. Press in the M5 and M3 inserts.
2. Put the board in its holder into ARM-LEFT and connect it before you join the arms.
3. Put ARM-RIGHT on and pull the arms together with three M5x50 screws.

4. The front part

5. The bases and the Packout holders

1. Press the M5 inserts into the bases.
2. Screw each Packout on with four M5x16 countersunk screws.
3. Join the bases with the M5x20 screws.

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The control board carries the ESP32, the buzzer and the USB-C. Four connectors are plugged into the board.

Cable routing in the photos

1. Connect the battery and put it into the holder. Lay the cables in the channel and fix them (in the photos with small drops of glue or tape).
2. Connect the display, the AS5600 and the button to the connectors of the board as described above.
3. Lead the bundle of cables from the encoder head to the arm with the board and leave some slack for opening.
4. Before you close the arms check that no cable is pinched in the joint.

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You can buy the ready-made electronics (the assembled control board, the display and the AS5600 sensor) and the turned and laser-cut parts in our e-shop. The rollers and the spool sides are there too. What is left are ordinary fasteners and these components:

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