[Indeterminate Design] tried to 3D print a screw compressor some time ago but wasn’t satisfied with the result. He’s trying it again, and you can check it out in the video below. You can also download the 3D printable files.
This isn’t a 3D-printed keychain. The screw threads have to mesh with a small space between them, and the design is not trivial. Even if you don’t want to build your own, the look inside the engineering behind these devices is interesting, and there is quite a bit of background about how the rotor’s shapes are optimized.
The complexity of the rotors is probably what caused the last version to fail. The rotor profile, this time, was handled differently using a Python script to pick up data from an existing profile and output suitable 3D printing data.
The finished product sounds loud, and the Printables page notes, “[The compressor] is extremely dangerous…” so act accordingly. He did have a service do the screw printing using a special high-temperature resin. The first prints had backward angles and were a bit smaller than needed. So he finally printed his own screws over many hours. The other parts had to be printed numerous times to get the sizes correct.
Not the first compressor we’ve seen. One even used PVC.
i actually thought these were fusilli noodles
That’s a fun learning project!
High temperature elastomeric coating perhaps. Nice geometry
The compressor in my car gets to ~100C on a long run. I wonder how long this would last.
I would think that’s within the operating range of some filaments, is the compressor in your car a screw compressor?
Would this work with normal pla, when i used it as a waterpump? The water should keep the printed parts from melting. Maybe as a super soaker, or PC watercooling. Or would it fail?
This is a compressor, it makes a volume of air occupy a smaller volume. Water generally is incompressible, and would instantly destroy this compressor.
No . It is a positive replacement pump and frequently used in hydraulics.
Nice design demo, and explanation!
For lobe pumps you can use the Moineau Pump app (which I created several years ago) available from the Fusion360 store for free.
I would agree that for air compressors, homebuilt 3DP parts are probably not going to be very successful. However, using such a pump to move water or oil might be more successful, due to the lower speed requirements, and self lubrication/cooling.
Thanks Greg!
If you are near a real one make sure it has an effective noise enclosure and piping is insulated. Likely will still near earplugs.
Worked for sullair compressor manufacturer making these rotors. Male rotors had 4 lobes and female had 6 lobes, also Male had sealing strip on top. If I can be any help email undfan@comcast.net