Two Air Pumps

cults3d

Two Air Pumps are smaller 3D printed versions of much larger air / water pumps I built using PVC pipes and fittings when I was much younger. Yes, you can purchase one of these pumps at the dollar store for a dollar, but I designed this as a test for an air pump to use in an upcoming project - think calliope. A video of the taller air pump assembly and use is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD1SxthqsrA, and a cad animation showing the disassembly of the taller air pump is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5DUVAcHrsA The design is somewhat similar to the 3D printed single cylinder air engine in that there is a single cylinder, a single piston, and dual openings for air intake. However, instead of having a moving valve plate leading or lagging the piston by 90 degrees in order to control air flow through the dual pressure and exhaust ports, this design utilizes a much simpler valve - an o-ring on the piston itself, and a single exhaust port, the plunger stem. I have included two versions of the air pump in Two Air Pumps, one short and one tall. The differences between the two is that the taller version can move more air per stroke than the shorter version, and as such requires fewer pumping cycles than the smaller version to move the equivalent amount of air. If you have a taller format printer, I recommend printing the taller version, however, the shorter version easily produces enough air to inflate the "punch balloons" used in Four Whistles Version (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2864943), Balloon Powered Single Cylinder Air Engine Open Chassis (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2870929) and Balloon Powered Single Cylinder Air Engine Toy Train (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2883385). To complete this model, you will need to purchase an "AS568 #222" o-ring (1 1/2" ID, 1 3/4" OD, 1/8" section), flexible gasket material (I've used thick cardboard, inner tubes, thick rubber gloves and 1.5mm thick shelf liner, I liked the shelf liner the best) and petroleum jelly for lubrication of the o-ring piston valve. I also used scissors, a single bevel razor blade, a modeling knife, and a needle file set for assembly. I probably forgot a few files or who knows what else, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask as I make mistakes in plenty. Designed using Autodesk Fusion 360, sliced using Cura 3.2.1, and printed in PLA on an Ultimaker 2+ Extended and an Ultimaker 3 Extended.