3D printing film spools, can 1mm thick flanges be light-tight?

[MCB18]

Please let me know if this is the wrong place to ask, but I think this is where this goes.

I am thinking about trying to 3D print spools for a few different formats not currently manufactured, the most challenging part is the spools. They are hard to find and expensive. I was thinking about getting them 3D printed instead, but I have heard that 3D prints are not always light-tight. Can anyone give me any suggestions regarding filaments that are known to be opaque enough for this application?

Thanks!

 

[F4U]

If youre talking about the ends of the spools being light tight, no they really aren't. Print in black filament then spray paint the ends black. Then they'll be OK.

 

[Kino]

This test is for PLA filament, but probably could be adapted for other types. I used it to determine the thickness of a PLA lens board.

PLA Opacity Tool by schlem

Finding truly opaque PLA for photographic / camera applications has proven difficult. Many black PLA formulations are translucent at best, even when printed at 100% infill.The sample photographs were fogged by translucent PLA, and light shining through the shutter (typically the thinnest part of...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[koraks]

the spools

Are we talking about spools (as in 120 spools) or cassettes (as in 125 cassettes)?

I used it to determine the thickness of a PLA lens board.

Note that for something like a film cassette, the opacity requirements will be more strict than for a lens board given the typical duration of exposure.

There's certainly merit to @F4U's suggestion to augment the print with an extra layer that adds opacity. Spray paint is a possibility; so is some kind of film/tape. Tin foil is opaque.

As to prints, note that the printing method will have an effect, too. A filament printer will generally perform worse for the same wall thickness than a resin printer, assuming the same opacity of the printed material. Filament printers tend to leave gaps/thin areas where the strands touch.

 

[MCB18]

Are we talking about spools (as in 120 spools) or cassettes (as in 125 cassettes)?

Spool ends, not cassettes. Specifically looking at 122 spools. Unfortunately cassettes are too complex for me to model at the moment, although their design is entreaty more light safe… making a 3D printed 70mm cassette is on the bucket list though.

If youre talking about the ends of the spools being light tight, no they really aren't. Print in black filament then spray paint the ends black. Then they'll be OK.

Hadn’t thought about that, this might be the way to go. I wish spray paint weren’t so messy though.

 

[4season]

Look for a fiber that's specifically designed to be opaque. Proto-Pasta offers one.

 

[MCB18]

Look for a fiber that's specifically designed to be opaque. Proto-Pasta offers one.

Damn that’s expensive…

 

[Hunter_Compton]

I've used Bambu PLA basic and Bambu ABS and found both to be opaque at 0.8mm thickness.

 

[Steve906]

Posca paint pens are good, less messy than spray.
I've used them on lens boards general blacking inside lenses and masks in a Mamiya press back.
Couldn't believe how translucent 3mm laser cut ply is - and resin prints, normal mixing is not enough to distribute the black evenly at 2-3mm thick - hence the pens.

 

[4season]

BTW, if 620 is one of the formats in question, don't bother printing: eTone offers metal spools, and at least prior to 2025, price was very reasonable.

 

[MCB18]

BTW, if 620 is one of the formats in question, don't bother printing: eTone offers metal spools, and at least prior to 2025, price was very reasonable.

I’m aware, this is mainly in regards to larger formats like 101, 122, 116, and 616 for now. Maybe more depending on if I can find a way to cut down larger rolls of film precisely.

 

[thinkbrown]

I've had good luck printing minolta 16 cassettes with esun black. I think the walls end up being 3 or 4 perimeters which is like 1.2 or 1.6mm