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3D Printed Centrifugal Blower (squirrel-cage fan)

4/11/2014

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I'm working on a concept to create some extensions for the popular littleBits electronic kits. The kits are rated for ages 8 and up, and I purchased one for my young nephew who is just turning 8. Though fun, I could see that some of the concepts were tough to grasp, such as the "inverter", and thought some plug-in modules that "did something" on their own might be fun to keep up the interest level.

The first idea was to create a little miniature inflatable stick-man, like businesses use for promotional activities (they are called sky-dancers, or air-dancers): 
Picture
Making the "dancers" seems pretty easy, but I needed an air source that would operate on 5V. So, I got a few miniature 5V DC motors from digikey, and modeled a squirrel cage fan around the motor's dimensions.

Here are all the parts as printed, and being assembled (click thumbnails to zooom):
Part files are posted to Thingiverse.
SUPER fast time-lapse (8 seconds) of parts being printed (actual print time was about 4 days, as is typical of 3D printers)


And here is the final unit, and it DOESN'T SUCK! (IT BLOWS!)
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