Do I dare 3d print this?

[rslaback]

I was pulling apart the motor in a recently acquired 1x42 belt sander to investigate the squeak and was greeted by a broken internal fan.

It seems like an easy enough part to model. Do I dare print this?

 

[vwpieces]

Grr, probably nylon and not gluable...
My solidworks skillz aren't up to par for that one.
But if you can print with nylon go for it. And I would undersize the hole, ream to fit after print. Possibly drill tap a small set screw.

 

[rslaback]

Grr, probably nylon and not gluable...
My solidworks skillz aren't up to par for that one.
But if you can print with nylon go for it. And I would undersize the hole, ream to fit after print. Possibly drill tap a small set screw.

I'm an Autocad man myself. The blades should be easy enough to make with a 3 way extrusion intersection. Draw each profile and extrude it and then take the intersection of those 3 solid masses. Array 8 of them around a revolved hub and Bob's your uncle.

 

[4 FN 27]

I would go for it...in Solidworks. Piece of cake.

 

[txvwnut]

That looks easy enough to work up in your favorite cad program so I say go for it.

 

[PelicanPines]

You, can do it !!! <--- said with some kind of strange accent.

 

[rslaback]

So something like this should be a good first start I think.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Super Glue.....

 

[larry_g]

Look at where it broke, right at the stress rises from the blades to the hub. I would suggest that you put some fillets in the corners to soften the intersections of the members and add some strength there.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[rslaback]

Look at where it broke, right at the stress rises from the blades to the hub. I would suggest that you put some fillets in the corners to soften the intersections of the members and add some strength there.

lg
no neat sig line

Not a bad idea.

 

[larry_g]

Not a bad idea.

I was thinking also on the vertical where the vane meets the hub also.

 

[rslaback]

I was thinking also on the vertical where the vane meets the hub also.

They're there. Just hard to see in the iso.

 

[larry_g]

We did this today and tonight I was cleaning out our food drier and it has a similar fan. One big difference is that fan here has a ring around it that connects the tips of the fan blades together. Another idea that you might consider on your printed fan.

lg
no nea sig line

 

[Dumber than lumber]

I would just try to glue it. I have some kind of higher-priced Devcon 2-part product in a squeeze-it-through-the-21-element-nozzle kit. (Devcon 291 Plastic Welder)
Looks like you have both pieces of broken blade. Anyway, the Devcon stuff surely has some 3M or Loctite equivalent.
How long will it take to print that?

 

[rslaback]

About 5 hours.

 

[jimkinney]

Nice. How's it for balance?

 

[CoogarXR]

Watching this thread for the operational review.

 

[PelicanPines]

Two Questions...
1. What did you print it in. Nylon?... which brand etc... was it a blend?
2. What printer did you use?

 

[Bessy]

If you have the technology and the time to 3D print a plastic part, and they can't be had online quick for cheap, then the answer should always be "why not?" Especially in instances like this where you have the ability to (hopefully) improve the design! Very interested to see how the part holds up over time!

 

[Bessy]

Any updates here? Did you try and print one?

 

[GreyOwl]

Any updates here? Did you try and print one?

See post 15

 

[Bessy]

See post 15

Well don't I feel dumb. Nice print!

 

[gte718p]

The part was designed to be easily and cheaply injection molded. Since you are printing it, next step is to actually give the blades an airfoil shape and some pitch to dramatically increase air flow.

 

[alfazer]

Check if your printer can use Nylon. It prints easy and is a tough material.

 

[rslaback]

Nice. How's it for balance?

Honestly it is a bit off. I could've spent some time trying to perfect the balance but it belongs to a cheap 1x42 belt sander so it isn't the smoothest operation anyway so I let it go.

Two Questions...
1. What did you print it in. Nylon?... which brand etc... was it a blend?
2. What printer did you use?

I printed it in PLA+ (because that was what was loaded) at 100% fill on an Ender 3 Pro

 

[LCSteve]

Nice, I missed this thread when I was looking at printing my replacement a month or so ago. I printed mine in ABS and it's been working fine so far. I tested it a few times up to ~4200+ rpm just fine on my DIY 2x72 grinder. FWIW I also printed a fan shroud, service box cover with gasket and drive wheel both also working well. The drive wheel was printed in carbon fiber polycarbonate to be safe though. I intend on loading all up on Thingiverse over the next few days.