String Reel Holder

Alex82

Alex82

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
392
Reaction score
341
Location
Germany / Karlsruhe
Unfortunately, the storage boxes in which I keep my strings are no longer sold in Germany. I looked for alternatives, but couldn't find anything reasonable, so I had to find something else.
I then opened the CAD program and designed something and that's what I made:
reel holder drawing.png
As the surfaces are slightly beveled, the reels roll in almost by themselves and do not roll out by themselves.

This is how it looks now:
Reel holder example.jpg Reel holder example 2.jpg

I already uploaded it to thingiverse.com but as a new user I have to wait 24 hours to publish something. As soon as it is published, I will post the link.

I have made 4 types:
  • Yonex ( slots are 26,5 mm wide)
    • with easy way to add supports
    • without support possibility
  • Ashaway (the slots are 37 mm wide)
    • with easy way to add supports
    • without support possibility
Also there are files for Yonex (Li-Ning and Victor are the same dimensions) reels from 1 tray up to 8 and for Ashaway from 1 to 6 trays.

Why with or without supports?
I printed 5 holders without support and any problems, but I noticed that the print got worse the higher it went. The walls are very thin and tend to vibrate easily. The 6th holder was a mess... I don't really know what happened. So I added the possibility to easy add some supports. With that supports the print was much better at the top part.

My print settings (Bambu Studio):
Filament: eSun PLA+ black
Process Setting: 0,24 mm Draft
Wall generator: Arachne

With supports:
Enable support: yes
Type: tree
Style: Tree Organic
 
Last edited:
That's a lot of string!
I use IKEA baskets, with an old dinner placemat to block out UV light. But your set up looks way fancier! Very jealous.
 
DuckFeet said:
I use IKEA baskets, with an old dinner placemat to block out UV light.
Click to expand...
UV light can be a problem. I also thought about making a flap across the entire width of the shelf. But then I threw the idea away because the reels are stored in the basement and there is hardly any sunlight (certainly not direct sunlight).

DuckFeet said:
But your set up looks way fancier!
Click to expand...
As I wrote, I had plastic boxes (still have them for Tennis) in the past. Not only does it looks fancier, it is also much more practical. I wouldn't have thought so myself when I did it.

ChickenSoup said:
Only thing slightly bugging me is the labelling being a bit uneven.
Click to expand...
Yes, you're right. I already thought about to add something in front to put in the labels/paper. But had realized it too late and had already printed a few. And because they need a lot of filament and time, I didn't want to start all over again.

kwun said:
How do you have so many strings?
Click to expand...
Why not? Customers are happy if they can choose different strings and colors. Normally I need about 5 reels per month. So most strings don't get old, even the not very popular ones.

kwun said:
How long did that take to print?!
Click to expand...
Depends... The 7 tray Yonex holder takes just under 9 hours and needs ~350 g filament. In one row I have 3x7 tray holders and 2x4 tray holders. The 4 tray holder needs a little bit over 5 hours and ~215 g filament.
 
BTW: the 1 kg eSUN PLA+ filament costs here ~18 €. So one 7 tray holder costs about 6,30, € filament. I think that's a good price.
For the two rows of the Yonex holders I used 4 spools of filament. Inclusive some test and failed prints.
 
That is awesome! Have you thought about drilling a hole through the middle so can secure it in place so you can pull the string directly out from the reel whilst its on the shelf?
 
kaffars said:
Have you thought about drilling a hole through the middle so can secure it in place so you can pull the string directly out from the reel whilst its on the shelf?
Click to expand...
Yes, but not an option for me. Because I want to take the reels up to the living room, where I string most of the time. You also have to secure the holders on the shelf so that they don't fall down. Some reels (Aerobite) are difficult to unroll.
 
Hot damn. Thats ALOT of reels.

Im lucky enough I have a shelf that fits reels perfectly haha...
 
Thanks, Alex, for the initial idea.

I designed my own version based on Alex's concept. However, I made the walls thicker and made it modular. You can add as many pieces as you want. The wall thickness is also increased. Unfortunately, this requires more filament and the print time increases.

If you are interested, you can find the files here: https://www.printables.com/model/949775-badminton-string-reel-holder

[GALLERY=media, 2099]String Reel Holder by bartiboi posted Jul 21, 2024 at 12:48 PM[/GALLERY]
 
bartiboi said:
Thanks, Alex, for the initial idea.

I designed my own version based on Alex's concept. However, I made the walls thicker and made it modular. You can add as many pieces as you want. The wall thickness is also increased. Unfortunately, this requires more filament and the print time increases.

If you are interested, you can find the files here: https://www.printables.com/model/949775-badminton-string-reel-holder

[GALLERY=media, 2099]String Reel Holder by bartiboi posted Jul 21, 2024 at 12:48 PM[/GALLERY]
Click to expand...
This is awesome. Great work both!

If we don’t own a 3D printer, does anyone know how we go about getting one of these printed and delivered in the UK without it costing an arm and a leg?
 
SirWabbs said:
This is awesome. Great work both!

If we don’t own a 3D printer, does anyone know how we go about getting one of these printed and delivered in the UK without it costing an arm and a leg?
Click to expand...

Depending on the kind of printer it take's a while to print the piece's on my pursa mk4 it takes around 3.5 hours to print one piece. So unfortunately you need quite a lot of print time for printing one. On a Bambu lab machine it should take around 2 hours to print a piece. ( they are quite fast ) The best option is to find someone in your neigburhood to print them for you. You can also get them printed by pcb way but it should cost around 200 Dollar vat + btw excluded that's quite a lot. ( for a 10 slot model ). I added PCBway compatible file's to get them printed if you want.
 
bartiboi said:
Depending on the kind of printer it take's a while to print the piece's on my pursa mk4 it takes around 3.5 hours to print one piece. So unfortunately you need quite a lot of print time for printing one. On a Bambu lab machine it should take around 2 hours to print a piece. ( they are quite fast ) The best option is to find someone in your neigburhood to print them for you. You can also get them printed by pcb way but it should cost around 200 Dollar vat + btw excluded that's quite a lot. ( for a 10 slot model ). I added PCBway compatible file's to get them printed if you want.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. I've enquired with someone local and they're asking how much infill? 25%/50%/100%? Thank you.

And you stated: "The parts are connected with a 5 mm threaded rod, with a regular bolt at the beginning and a special nut at the end (M5 DIN 546". Is that 3 separate pieces? How does the regular bolt at the beginning hold together with the 5mm threaded rod? Won't it just fall out?
 
Last edited:
Initially I was curious how @Alex82 has so many reels of strings and logically he answers that that give his customers choices and given he probably has a pretty high volume that makes complete sense.

Another case is when there are fewer total customers (says a couple of dozen) but each of them have a reel of their own favorite string and they trust you to keep their reel at your place. We have such case and probably have around 10 reels, and we don't have too high volume. Some home stringer can easily end up with dozens. And now suddenly this storage system makes a lot of sense.

And to add, this is a popular store in Japan where they store their customer's reels. That must be around 600 reels?

StringReels.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top