Some ideas are so bad that we just try them anyway, at least that seems to be [Ivan Miranda]’s philosophy. No stranger to just totally ignoring the general consensus on what you can (or at least should) or can’t make with a 3D printer, and just getting on with it, [Ivan] may have gone a little too far this time. Since umbrellas are, well, boring, why not try to keep dry with an air-curtain hat?
As you’ll see from the video, attempting to 3D print an impeller to run from a BLDC motor didn’t exactly go well. The imbalance due to imperfections in the printing process (and lack of an easy way balance it post-print) caused incredibly unpleasant (and possibly damaging) vibrations directly into his skull, not to mention the thing self-disassembling in a short time.
Not to be discouraged, he presses on regardless, substituting an electrical ducted fan (EDF), increasing the silliness-factor oh-so-little, after all as he says “I think I have a solution for all the issues — more power!”
EDFs and other kinds of ducted fans are used in many applications nowadays. Thanks to advances in rare-earth magnets enabling more powerful brushless motors, combined with cheap and accessible control systems, there has never been a better time to drop an EDF into your latest madcap idea. We have covered many ducted fan projects over the years, including this great video about how ducted fans work, which we think is well worth a watch if you’ve not already done so.
The “rain in spain, stays mainly in the plain” doesn’t actually reflect reality, as most rainfall is actually recorded in the mountainous north, rather than the central ‘plain’, But regardless, it never rains when you want it to, certainly in the Basque country where [Ivan] is based. Initial testing was done with a hose pipe, in the shop, which shows a certain dedication to the task in hand to say the least.
He does demonstrate it appearing to actually work, but we’re pretty sure there is still plenty of room for improvement. Although, maybe it’s safer to just shelve it and move on the next mad-cap idea?
Maybe not suitable for a crowd …. of TWO or more
But that’s also true for ‘normal’ umbrellas.
Nah, you can easily fit 2-3 people under a good umbrella.
This would be super unpleasant to be near as it’s firing water at you horizontally. But at least most people would avoid you because of the noise anyway.
that’s a feature, not a bug.
Not within the same radius!
Perfectly matches the zeitgeist: me first
Sod my hovercraft project. I’m buying one of these!!!
…unless you arrange users vertically
Add its own water supply in a backpack and it would make a great covid social distancer!
Just the noise should do that.
Definitely
Shorting out that battery in the rain would be a very bad thing
This reminds me of the Air Umbrella Kickstarter 😂
https://www.techinasia.com/air-umbrella-cancelled
People thought I was out of my tree when I built this:
https://stuartl.longlandclan.id.au/blog/2007/09/05/hatlamp/
I think if I had strapped a BLDC motor to my head with the idea of deflecting the rain, they’d be hauling me off to the funny farm.
It’s weird that you chose a hard hat over a rigid bicycle or motorcycle helmet… But maybe easier.
Easier, cheaper… mildly more socially acceptable.
Mark Mothersbaugh would be proud.
“I think I have a solution for all the issues — more power!”
The Jeremy Clarkson approach to engineering.
Personal space insurance.
….or just use an umbrella 🤣🤣🤣
May easily be turned into a human drone…
File this one under “Just so crazy it might work”
Perhaps a more forward thinking project like an electrostatic rain repeller could gain more energy. It could be called the Franklin umbrella.
Quite an amusing video presentation. I’m not sure which aspect was funnier, the project proper or the hair loss sponsor. Definitely an A+ for effort.
There is no way around it, personal force field is the only answer to this issue.
Lose the air flow, just use the motor to shake the person appropriately, and create a laminar air curtain around the whole body. The water wil just repel – until the person falls apart.
You should send the schematics for this to groups of people protesting various good causes in parts of the world where the authorities use pepper spray a bit too generously. Or maybe just…. groups of one protester. On second thought maybe don’t ever turn this thing on in the vicinity of pepper spray.
Has anybody ever experimented with using an air curtain to deflect bugs from a windshield while traveling at highway speeds?
Wow, the summary is so negative. Did someone start writing before their morning coffee?
One would think Ivan Miranda ended up with a concussion from the vibrations or something like that. As I remember the video he was pretty encouraged by the results so far and seemed excited to continue the project!
Hope the battery doesn’t explode while wearing the hat like it does in a Tesla or smartphones…
I really like the Hat idea only thing I could see is maybe find a way to put a cover on the intake so you don’t atomized the water