Propellers! 3D Printer Model

Author: @
License: CC BY
File formats: skp,stl,gcode
Download type: zip
Size:390.7KB

The file 'Propellers! 3D Printer Model' is (skp,stl,gcode) file type, size is 390.7KB.

Summary

Propellers are neat things that you can attach to motors. When they turn, they create a pressure difference on the front/back of the blade. The front has high pressure, and the back has low pressure.

These are done in Sketchup using a technique that I am developing. Each blade is 120 degrees from the others. The profile is extruded up 1/16" and then the top edge is rotated on the center point. The new top edge is then extruded again 1/16" and rotated by the same number of degrees. There is a line through the center to help locate the rotation point. This line would also be useful for placing a hole to accomodate a motor or other post.

This design would be good to print and then make a mold of so you could make lots of propellers for underwater robots or airplanes or similar.

After printing a few versions, it appears that the props need to have a steeper angle for proper Makerbotting. This will reduce the overhang, but will likely also require a taller blade to get enough surface area on the blades.

If the profile of the blade is 1/16th of an inch, it seems to print neater and faster with abs. The included g code is based on MK5 with automated build platform. Having the angle too steep also makes for a sloppy print with lots of loops and drips. The three holes will allow the prop to be bolted onto a laser cut acrylic motor adapter.

3BladeProp10degreepersixteenth.skp 47.2KB
3BladeProp10degreepersixteenth.stl 182.7KB
3BladeProp2degreepersixteenth.skp 47.9KB
3BladeProp6degreepersixteenth.skp 46.4KB
HalfInchTall3BladeProp6degreepersixteenthThinBladesWHoles.gcode 1.2MB
HalfInchTall3BladeProp6degreepersixteenthThinBladesWHoles.skp 109.2KB
HalfInchTall3BladeProp6degreepersixteenthThinBladesWHoles.stl 661.0KB