3D printed line guides.

[Slazmo]

Has anyone thought about printing up a custom line guide for their baitcaster reels?

So you could make a custom guide to fit, so a copy of the basic layout and improve the line guide to your liking.

Buy a Fuji line guide say Torzite, Sic, or Fazlite whatever your flavour, size well you could go whatever you wanted, small / micro, round or oval guide, pop out the insert and insert it into the level wind body...

It got me thinking today that instead of a tube that's found on most (Shimano) level wind guides that seems to be restricted due to the line peel angles encountered while on the cast, a smaller less restricted higher polished surface that will reduce friction.

Also the support shaft, you could really soup up the two ends that the line guide slides on to stop the usual wobble, thicken it to have more support on the inner side.

Thoughts or ideas?

[MountainMan 83]

I think that sounds like a great idea! Is this something you're about to try? Id be interested to see how it turns out. I have a rapid prototype group at my work, but I'd probably have to butter them up to get access to the printers, haha.

[Slazmo]

I'm an ideas guy with zero access to anyone willing to do anything here in Aus...

Ask a machinist to do a small job of making new nuts for my Curado E handle knobs shafts that'll take bearings for the outer side of the handle... Pfft it's either a reoccurring job of 10,000 units or "expletive off"...

Give me access to a mini lathe, a rapid prototype 3D printer some know how and yeh I'd be onto it without even mentioning it here at all until its done.

Unfortunately it's a freebie thought to anyone that's willing to take it on.

[LowRange]

It would be a cool way to develop a new level wind design or just test the waters with a proof of concept but as working parts they are god awful. We had to throw out a bunch of 3d printed parts when someone thought they could save a buck by having the small wear item plastic parts we need made locally rather than purchase original parts from a vendor. The parts were 3d printed and all failed almost immediately. Some were even hollow and just looked like the part but could be snapped in two by hand. The material they were made from wasn't even correct.

[Slazmo]

Varying grades of 3D printers and their capabilities.

Would be a good way to proof of concept and then build upon it I guess.

Other than injection moulding the part I could also assume that 5 axial cnc could also work but yeh cost blowout.

I may order a OEM line guide and do some tinkering...