Simple Air Vane Motor

thingiverse

After witnessing children play with an airplane powered by compressed air from a soda bottle, I was inspired to create a laser-cuttable version of this motor. Despite its limited power and efficiency, the resulting printable "air vane" motor functions perfectly. My next goal is to develop a fully printable aircraft powered solely by a soda bottle. Check out a video demonstrating the motor's functionality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reaB0R9ALHs Gain further insight into air vane motors at http://www.hydraulicspneumatics.com/200/TechZone/FluidPowerAcces/Article/True/6422/TechZone-FluidPowerAcces. Matt has even designed a version specifically for 3D printers, which can be found here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:620. When utilizing the laser cutter Ponoko to produce this item, small "pixelated" indentations appeared along all curves (as depicted in an image). Although not a major issue, these indentations hindered smooth vane movement within the inner ring, necessitating manual sanding and polishing for proper motor operation. The screw holes proved unnecessary since the acrylic did not effectively seal when simply screwed together. Consequently, I glued the three layers with an ample amount of Faller Expert Plastic Cement. Additionally, I smoothed the rotor sides slightly to minimize friction. For propellant, I employed a common can of Dust Off.