<p>It's called a spool winder (or line winder), works much the same as those used for fishing spools and wire. I haven't made one but seen a few printable ones online.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:spool_winder" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thingiverse has a bunch of the</a>m (I haven't personally tried any)</p>
<p>This one has a moving guide for the filament which is what I assume you're after.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW_1DHMZ3m0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Spool winder with filament guide.</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T11:07:26.853Z
I dislike the two half gear solution, when a single, [special Rack](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3038784) would cut a part ;)
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T13:17:39.450Z
@Trish just showing the OP some 3d print solutions I came across, I couldn't personally imagine 3d printing any of them. Seems overkill for the task
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T13:57:39.890Z
@Kilisi: I wouldn't print something so elaborate, just the filament guide with the right gear ratio for about 30-33 rotations per crossing in one direction. Then I'd mount it on plywood or some stacked bricks and turn it with a drill.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T14:14:45.237Z
@R..GitHubSTOPHELPINGICE If you go for a power driven assembly, You possibly might want to mount at least *some* of the transmission gears on bearings to prevent them from getting overheated - or at least put their axles into a bearing solution and tightly affix them to those. Just so you don't overheat and crook the gear's hub
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T14:19:17.220Z
None of the things on thingiverse seem to have any reciprocating guide mechanism.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T22:24:38.020Z
In my manual attempts to respool PLA filament I soon discovered that the natural curl of the filament worked against me. The filament from the outer layers of the original spool has a larger radius curl than the filament that was originally wound close to the core.  It goes on the new spool in the opposite orientation so the natural curl is not tight enough at the beginning and is too tight toward the end. All in all, with poor layering, breaks and tangles it was frustrating, unmanageable and proved to be a losing proposition.
allardjd
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-02T00:04:44.937Z
@allardjd I didn't even try doing it that way for that same reason. we just take the whole thing off and respool. It's a bit of work, but filament is hard to get here. Shorter lengths we don't even respool at all justtake it off and run it through from the coil.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-02T06:33:05.300Z
@Kilisi PLA becomes bendable and deformable in the airsteam of a hair drier. That might assist in winning against the curl induced by being hot-spooled the first time, but you need to make sure that the airstream is not too hot to melt the PLA
Trish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-02T08:48:17.637Z
@Trish I don't have a need to automate it. I have 6 kids all locked down with no school since the year started.
Kilisi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T06:27:57.120Z
2022-06-01T08:30:51.250Z
2022-06-01T08:30:51.250Z
Kilisi
<p>It came up in <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/19480/11157">an answer</a> on another question that some filament comes wound with too much tension, making it deform and fuse when attempting to dry it. Rewinding is a solution, but it's a lot of manual work and difficult to do well. Are there working printable systems for respooling filament - particularly, with a mechanism to guide the filament back and forth across the spindle as it rotates so that it ends up distributed properly. I would search for it by name but I don't actually know what that mechanism is called.</p>

<filament>
Solution for rewinding badly wound filament
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
# Solution for rewinding badly wound filament

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-01)

It came up in [an answer](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/a/19480/11157) on another question that some filament comes wound with too much tension, making it deform and fuse when attempting to dry it. Rewinding is a solution, but it's a lot of manual work and difficult to do well. Are there working printable systems for respooling filament - particularly, with a mechanism to guide the filament back and forth across the spindle as it rotates so that it ends up distributed properly. I would search for it by name but I don't actually know what that mechanism is called.

**Tags:** filament


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-06-01. Score: 2

It's called a spool winder (or line winder), works much the same as those used for fishing spools and wire. I haven't made one but seen a few printable ones online.

[Thingiverse has a bunch of the](https://www.thingiverse.com/tag:spool_winder)m (I haven't personally tried any)

This one has a moving guide for the filament which is what I assume you're after.

[Spool winder with filament guide.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW_1DHMZ3m0)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I dislike the two half gear solution, when a single, [special Rack](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3038784) would cut a part ;)  
> **username_1**: @username_2 just showing the OP some 3d print solutions I came across, I couldn't personally imagine 3d printing any of them. Seems overkill for the task  
> **username_0**: @username_1: I wouldn't print something so elaborate, just the filament guide with the right gear ratio for about 30-33 rotations per crossing in one direction. Then I'd mount it on plywood or some stacked bricks and turn it with a drill.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 If you go for a power driven assembly, You possibly might want to mount at least *some* of the transmission gears on bearings to prevent them from getting overheated - or at least put their axles into a bearing solution and tightly affix them to those. Just so you don't overheat and crook the gear's hub  
> **username_0**: None of the things on thingiverse seem to have any reciprocating guide mechanism.  
> **username_3**: In my manual attempts to respool PLA filament I soon discovered that the natural curl of the filament worked against me. The filament from the outer layers of the original spool has a larger radius curl than the filament that was originally wound close to the core.  It goes on the new spool in the opposite orientation so the natural curl is not tight enough at the beginning and is too tight toward the end. All in all, with poor layering, breaks and tangles it was frustrating, unmanageable and proved to be a losing proposition.  
> **username_1**: @username_3 I didn't even try doing it that way for that same reason. we just take the whole thing off and respool. It's a bit of work, but filament is hard to get here. Shorter lengths we don't even respool at all justtake it off and run it through from the coil.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 PLA becomes bendable and deformable in the airsteam of a hair drier. That might assist in winning against the curl induced by being hot-spooled the first time, but you need to make sure that the airstream is not too hot to melt the PLA  
> **username_1**: @username_2 I don't have a need to automate it. I have 6 kids all locked down with no school since the year started.  

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