Edge protectors for use with roller-style spool holders

Our cardboard spools are a source of pride here at Protoplant. The thoughtful touches are often overlooked, but really neat when you know about them!

We order them locally, so we can keep shipping costs and our carbon footprint down. They come as two separate components: spool sides, and cardboard cores. Because the spool sides are flat, they ship without any extra air or wasted space. We assemble them in-house with non-toxic glue, so they remain easily recyclable.

One of the most overlooked features is the cardboard itself. The sides are double-walled with two different sizes of fluting. This aids with the crush factor for sturdier sides, with less possibility of getting completely smashed.

With all this love for cardboard, we recognize it still has some faults. The major one is that the edges can get a little bent, either in production, packing, transit, or in your own home. For most standard set-ups, these crinkled edges won’t affect print quality. However, with the rise in popularity of roller-style spool holders, our customers are struggling to keep those bent spools upright.

Consider this great design from My Mini Factory maker mipla23. Each side uses less than 60g, and fits perfectly inside our cores. The threading fits snugly without too much friction or strain on your print. The rim is just slightly wider than the spool itself, allowing it to make contact with your roller-style bearings. It’s durable and lightweight, perfect for using over and over!