Big disappointment

This is just an ornament.

It does not work in the wind.

In very strong wind it can spin but then it turns in the wrong direction.

Is it possible to obtain the modifiable CAD files e.g. Solidworks part files to explore this design ?

Thank you.

revised parts to use 608 bearings, https://www.youmagine.com/designs/helix-windmill-version-for-608-bearings

@navkram Could you upload the Files for a standard 608 Bearing?

@duaner47 post a picture!

Printed this on my small M3D printer. I had to reduce to 63% and use 10 x 5 mm bearing. Just need some wind around here to see how it works at this size.

OK so you made a generator sized cylindrical space to put a generator and

just don't have it hooked up to anything, I take it. That is excellent!

Probably the thing to do is to put a small hobby DC motor, running

backwards as a DC generator, and mechanically make adapters for the body

and the shaft. Then two wires run down the stand to our electronic, and

there you have it - wind powered electrocoagulation (water purification)!

I will keep this plan in mind for future work (have a milestone to meet in

5 weeks or so first).

I'm bad with electronics so I have no idea, but the idea is that the generator part of the stand would house a stepper motor (not currently designed for it) and the motion would put a small charge in a batter that you could then use to power your cellphone or other devices.

However a few challenges need to be solved first including:

-Battery Solution

-Determining what scale vs. weight this thing would actually be effective

-Optimizing the airfoil angles so that it captures the wind properly

There are commercial products available that do a similar thing so i don't see why we wouldn't be able to. I think we're even capable of creating lighter, more efficient versions by printing hollow and iterating the design over time.

I've been able to get a wing quadrant section down to 19 grams on the UM2+

That would be cool.

Rich Tech

Hi, is there any provision for hooking this thing up to a DC motor to generate a small amount of power with it? Would such an adaptation be possible / actually work?

Les

Make history!

Really like the design.

Printed it up and assembled it with no glue.

Bearings fit with no sanding or filing.

Thanks Much.

Rich Tech

Design is !!awesome!!, Thanks for clarifying the bearings part. Will try to attach a generator as soon as the bearings arrive here in Holland:

http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-10Pcs-16mmx8mmx5mm-Steel-Shielded-Deep-Groove-Ball-Bearing-688ZZ-p-49911.html

I have to order ten, so if you need two as well..

I printed on white PLA 0.2 layers 20% infill, looks good. But ABS would probably be a better choice.

The bearings measure: 16mm External Diameter, 7.95 internal diameter. You could likely find some generic ones.

where can I get the right ball bearings from? best in a German shop

Very nice design. Think I have to print one myself :)

What printsetting have you used for this? Material, Layer hight, Infill, Suports etc?

Hi Valcrow,

Thanks for the clarification - that explains a lot ;-)

@akuechler Hi, the Design is intended to be used with a bearing, otherwise it won't spin freely or fit at all.

We used an Ultimaker 2 axis bearing for this model because we had a few handy. Unfortunately I don't know the exact part number. Looks like this though: http://g01.a.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1dYcrHVXXXXcRXXXXq6xXFXXXS/3d-printer-parts-ultimaker-2-ball-bearing-F688-2RS-flange-bearing-high-quality-free-shipping.jpg And it's used on the axis rods.

They simply slot into the stand, and the turbine sits ontop of it. The generator part sits under the bearing and snaps into the connector shaft.

Hi Ultimaker,

thanks for this great design. I just finished printing all parts. Am I doing something wrong or do the generator and high stand not really fit together? When I combine the wing configuration with the shaft into the high stand then the generator is too high and the whole config wobbles. When I leave the generator out of the equation the wings fit into the stand but are missing some way to hold them in the stand ...