Eolienne Wind turbine

thingiverse

Made for my wife who is teaching technology to kids. They study renewable energy and these real wind turbines. Video available here: https://youtu.be/wRZg4CXgDV4 Three prints were made at different scales, 1/100, 1/200, and 1/400. The two biggest are motorized with small gear motors found on the internet. Power is 3 volts for the big one, using four AA batteries in series, and three AA batteries for the middle one. No motor was used in the smallest one; I couldn't find a small enough gear motor. It took a long time to print the 100 scale model, but the result is nice for me. Due to curves, some parts look better when printed with 0.1 layer thickness. For rigidity, the three blades were not printed vertically, but this can be done as well with a better-looking design. For the big one, you need two bearings (604ZZ) and a piece of D4mm rod. As it's for educational purposes, the rod is connected to the motor axle using some kind of soft coupling. I used gasoline return pipe with an interior diameter of 3 mm for the rod. Then if a child tries to stop the propeller when running, it stops despite the motor still turning with the axle slipping. For the smaller one, I used scale model fuel pipe with an interior diameter of 2 mm. The motor axle is 3mm in diameter. When gluing the mast, take care to align internal cavities that are used to let wiring go through from the top to the bottom where batteries are located. For wiring, I use old network cables; small wires inside work perfectly. For assembly, I prefer using wood screws (three x 16 mm are enough); you'll find the locations for yourself, as holes and head locations are designed on the parts. A joining rod is included to align all mast parts. Rotation is approximately 15 rpm, which is the same as real wind turbines; if you want to go faster, just use three AA batteries instead of two. Self-flashing LEDs were added on top: D5mm for the big one and D3mm for the medium-sized model. The smallest one has free rotation of the blades. I hope some of you will be interested in this design. It's quite nice in the classroom. Proudly printed on my stock CR10 with Arianep last filament. White is used for most parts, and blue-gray is used for the base. Following requests about motors and LEDs: Motor for the 1/100 scale model: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-20mm-Full-Metal-Gearbox-Gear-Motor-DC-3V-6V-33RPM-Slow-Speed-Robot-Car/122895314585?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 With 3 volts, RPM is approximately 15. Motor for the 1/200 scale model: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-Speed-Reduction-Gear-Motor-with-Metal-Gearbox-Wheel-DC-6V-30RPM-N20/272520292077?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 With 3 volts, RPM is approximately 15. Self-flashing LED (5 mm): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WX3284I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Needs a small capacitor between + and - to flash. Self-flashing LEDs (5mm and 3mm, Christmas tree style): https://www.ebay.com/itm/3mm-5mm-LED-Fast-Slow-Flash-RGB-Water-Clear-Light-Round-Top-Emitting-Diode-Lamp/263806421271?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=563126768274&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 These models do not generate any power as they have gear motors to simulate wind effect. Due to a lot of interest, I will try to see what can be the tuning of these blades to obtain some energy or design new ones. If anyone knows how to find a small RPM multiplicator that can fit into the nacelle, it would help.