If you’ve ever printed with AM.CO.ZA PETG 3D Printed Plastic, you’ll know why it’s one of our go-to filaments. It prints beautifully, behaves well on our machines (and plenty of others), and is generally just easy to work with. But once a roll is finished, you’re left with the same question every time: what do you do with the empty spool?
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7uBrubfsKo
Throwing it away never really feels right. So instead, we decided to put it to good use.
The Idea
While browsing online, we came across a really clever storage container design made by another creator. The idea was solid and well thought out — but there was one small problem. It wasn’t designed to fit our spools.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, we decided to take that original idea, tweak it, test it, and make it work specifically for AM.CO.ZA PETG spools.
Adjusting the Design
The first step was importing the model and breaking it down into its main parts: the centre shaft and the outer container. The centre shaft was fairly straightforward — we measured the inside of our spool, trimmed away what we didn’t need, and resized it so it fit properly.
The outer container needed a bit more attention. Some of the walls were too large, so we ungrouped the shapes, resized them, and cut them back until everything lined up neatly with the inside of the spool.
One of the most important changes was the hinge. For it to work smoothly, the pivot point needed to sit right in the corner. Moving it too far inward would limit how far the container could open, so positioning it correctly made a big difference. We also adjusted a small retaining feature so the bucket wouldn’t just fall out when inserting it.
Getting the Fit Just Right
From there, it was all about fine-tuning. Small rotations, tiny movements, and lots of checking from different angles. We adjusted wall thickness to keep it strong without wasting plastic, increased the number of segments to keep everything nice and round, and carefully matched the height to the spool.
We also allowed for a bit of plastic shrinkage, which is completely normal when printing. It’s something you always need to keep in mind, especially when designing parts that need to fit snugly.
Why This Design Works So Well
What really makes this design stand out is how practical it is. Each container has:
- A finger hole to open it easily
- A small slot for a label
- A hinged bucket that opens and closes smoothly
Even if you print it in clear plastic, it’s still not always easy to see what’s inside, so being able to label each section is a big win.
Printing the Parts
Once everything was ready, we exported the parts and loaded them into Cura using our K8 printer profile. Since these parts sit inside the spool and don’t take much load, we kept the infill fairly low to save material.
We adjusted temperatures and speeds for summer conditions and didn’t need any supports. After slicing, the files were saved to an SD card and sent off to the printer.
Assembly and Final Result
3D printing takes time, but once all the parts were done, assembly was quick and satisfying. The centre shaft slides into place, the base plates screw together, and the container tiers stack neatly on top of each other.
Each bucket clips in using the pivot point, opens smoothly, and closes flush. Once assembled, the whole spool turns into a compact, modular storage system that fits perfectly inside a drawer.
You can use it to store screws, nuts, bolts, or anything else you want — and if you need dividers, that’s just another small design tweak away.
A Simple Way to Reduce Waste
In the end, we stayed true to the original idea and simply adapted it to work with our spools. Full credit goes to the original designer — it’s a great concept. We just made it fit our needs.
Instead of throwing empty spools away, we now have a practical storage solution that actually gets used. And that’s always a win.
Final Thoughts
This was a fun project to work on, and it’s always satisfying to turn something that would normally be wasted into something useful. If you enjoyed the build, give the video a like, subscribe to the channel, and hit the bell so you don’t miss future projects like this one.
See you in the next video.
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