Filament Server System

Update Oct 2017:

This Thing is here for archival reasons. In my own shop it has been completely supplanted by this system

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2362788

which I believe to be vastly superior.

Original:

Ever since my filament collection got past 3 or 4 spools I've been searching for the holy grail that would allow me to change filaments quickly without handling spools. It didn't take too long to figure out that if random access is a requirement, a separate holder for each spool is needed. That narrows the field pretty much to two approaches: holders on which a spool sits, bearing on its edges, and holders that involve an axle through a spool's hub. The former, in order to yield acceptably low friction, require ball or roller bearings. Since I wanted to accommodate 40+ spools, this approach was ruled out as too complex and time-consuming. I wanted something consisting of a few simple printed parts and a press-fit assembly process that would allow me to bang out