There was a time when print-in-place moving parts were a curiosity, but [Tomek] shows that things are now at a point where a hand-cranked turbine blower with integrated planetary gears can be entirely 3D printed. Some assembly is needed, but there is no added hardware beyond the printed parts. The blower is capable of decent airflow and can probably be optimized even further. Have a look at it work in the video below.
Every piece being 3D printed brings a few advantages. Prefer the hand crank on the other side? Simply mirror everything. Want a bigger version? Just scale everything up. Because all of the fasteners are printed as well as the parts, there’s no worry about external hardware no longer fitting oversized holes after scaling things up (scaling down might run into issues with tolerances, but if you manage an extra-small version, we’d love to hear about it).
There are a few good tips that are worth keeping in mind when it comes to print-in-place assemblies with moving parts. First, changing the seam location for each layer to ‘Random’ helps make moving parts smoother. This helps prevent the formation of a seam line, which can act as a little speed bump that gets in the way of smooth movement.
The other thing that helps is lubrication. A plastic-safe lubricant like PTFE-based Super Lube is a handy thing to have around the workshop and does wonders for smoothing out the action of 3D-printed moving parts. And we can attest that rubbing candle wax on mating surfaces works pretty well in a pinch.
One downside is that the blower is noisy in operation. 3D printed gears (and even printed bearings) can be effective, but do contribute to a distinct lack of silence compared to their purpose-built versions.
Still, a device like this is a sign of how far 3D printing has come, and how it enables projects that would otherwise remain an idea in a notebook. We do love 3D-printed gears.
It’s nothing more than 3D printed YouTube views.
Except for the link in the article that has every part needed.
A candidate for a pulley drive to reduce the noise.
What material would suit for a hillbilly drive belt, apart from rubber and leather?
Latex from XXL-size condoms could be used (don’t tie it in a belt; treat it as blind O-ring).
A piece of TPU filament with the ends welded together to make an o ring. I would recommend something softer than the usual 95A, it’s too slippery.
Pantyhose. In a pinch, I used a pair as an emergency replacement for an alternator belt in a Buick. 😅
“First, changing the seam location for each layer to ‘Random’ helps make moving parts smoother.”
When I was doing a lot of print in place gear stuff (Emmet’s gear bearing, tank treads, etc) someone suggested to me to use the “Split” function in the slicer. This makes it treat all the segments as individual parts instead of a “single layer part”. Then it finishes each section before moving to the next.
It is the secret trick to not have your parts fuse together.
Example here: https://youtu.be/pkp7QXDnYlY?si=GM7hY_4YSdZJpvxu https://youtu.be/IWKhXGy7IQM?si=pMx84xMNTXf3n2RX
I see 3D printed turbines in a lot of different applications. How are people deciding how to model these? For example how many blades, forward, or reverse swept, fin/ blade shape. Do people just try whatever looks good, and then print a different shape of it doesn’t work well? Or is there a good parametric model / designer out there that I’m not aware of?
Cargo-culting. No engineering is required since if it doesn’t work, you can always try again. Who cares about generating plastic waste?
I’ll bet you’re fun at parties. Do you by any chance use car tires, cling wrap, plastic packaged foods, synthetic fiber clothes, any electronic devices?
Finally, an item that claims to be entirely 3D printed that actually is! Usually it’s always clickbait and you need to add screws, nuts, motors and other electronics, but this is truly entirely 3D printed.