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Cult loader.

A daylight bulk loader you print yourself. Put a 100 ft roll of 35 mm in once, in the dark. From then on, roll your own cassettes in daylight: tape the film to an old commercial cassette, close the door, turn the crank and count the frames on the dial.

IN DEVELOPMENT ▸ DESIGN V5 ▸ TEST COUPON NEXT

First look

CULT FILM LOADER V5 ▸ 3D MODEL
3D model sheet of the Cult Film Loader v5: the loader closed with the frame dial and crank on the lid, the side door swung open, the film path seen from above, the cassette slid out in front for taping, a section through the felt gate with the door open and closed, the printed parts and the loading steps.
The v5 model: one compact body, about 135 × 115 × 48 mm. Orange = crank, dial knob and door latch; red = felt. Open full size ▸

How it works

ONCE IN THE DARK ▸ THEN DAYLIGHT
  1. 01

    Load the roll once

    In a changing bag: put the 100 ft roll on the hub, lead the film over the roller and sprocket and through the slot into the cassette room. Close the lid. That is the only time you need the dark.

  2. 02

    Tape a cassette

    In daylight, swing the side door open: the gate clamps the film and stops the light at the slot. Lift the crank, slide the cassette out to the front and tape the film to its spool. Slide it back and let the crank drop onto the spool.

  3. 03

    Close and crank

    Close the door. The gate lets go of the film, and the door seals the room. Zero the dial and turn the crank: one tick per frame, 36 + 3 for a 36-exposure roll.

  4. 04

    Cut and go

    Open the door, cut the film about 8 cm from the slot (that is the next cassette's tape end) and trim the leader. The first few frames saw light while the door was open: they are the leader anyway.

What's inside

PRINTED IN BLACK PLA ▸ NO MOTOR

Felt that never scratches

In most loaders the film is pulled through felt, and a grain of grit becomes a scratch along the whole roll. Here the felt pads clamp the film only while the door is open, when the film stands still. With the door shut, a finger on the door pushes the gate open, so the film winds through with half a millimetre of air on each side.

A Lloyd-style side door

Only the front and side walls of the cassette room swing open, on a hinge at the corner. The lid, with the crank and the dial, stays put. The cassette slides out to the front, so you have room to tape it properly, and two magnets hold the door shut. A rib in the floor and one in the lid close the seam against light.

A counter that reads the film

An 8-tooth sprocket runs in the perforations under the film. One turn of the sprocket is 8 perforations, which is exactly one frame (38 mm). It drives a 40-step dial in the lid, so the count comes from the film itself and not from guessing turns of the crank.

Your old cassettes, your cores

Reuse old commercial cassettes, taped to the film like at the lab. The hub takes standard 35 mm cine cores (SMPTE 37M, 25.7 mm bore with a key), and a 100 ft roll on the smallest core fits the 94 mm chamber. Cores up to 3″ fit. A two-prong fork on the crank turns the cassette spool.

FILM
35 mm, 100 ft (30.5 m) rolls
CASSETTES
Old commercial cassettes, film taped on
CORES
35 mm cine cores up to 3″ (75 mm)
SIZE
≈ 135 × 115 × 48 mm
PRINT
≈ 12 h, ≈ 160 g of PLA on any 220 mm bed
ALSO NEEDED
Felt, a 3 mm rod, a small spring, 2 magnets, M3 screws

Test coupon

≈ 1 HOUR ▸ BEFORE THE 12-HOUR PRINT

Before printing the whole loader, a one-hour coupon checks the fits that matter on your printer: the hub in your cores, the 0.8 mm film slot, the sprocket teeth in real perforations, the cassette pocket and the rewind fork. Each one is printed in two sizes; the ones that fit best go into the real parts.

The Cult Film Loader test coupon: keyed hub plugs, a stepped bore gauge, a film slot plate, two sprockets, two cassette pockets and two rewind forks, with what each piece tests.
The coupon: ≈ 1 h 15 min and about 11 g of PLA, no supports. Open full size ▸

What's next

ROADMAP
  1. DONEDesign and parametric 3D model (v5)
  2. NOWPrint the test coupon and tune the fits
  3. NEXTPrint the loader and test it for light leaks
  4. LATERPrintable files for everyone

Shot the roll? Scan it with the Cult Scanner when it's ready, and develop it in Cult Darkroom.