Parametric helical Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine

thingiverse

Get the new version here!http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:15083 I am currently in the middle of my Repstrap build, and my brother-in-law asked me why I am investing so much energy to get this done, if I can redirect my efforts into some way to obtain renewable energy (in order to get away from the high electricity bills) This is my answer to him! Thanks again to buzz for his Parametric NACA airfoil code. This project is dependent on the Parametric NACA4 Library I posted earlier. Instructions 1) Print the parts required: You will need one top and one base, and as many add-on sections as you require. To make it a constant torque turbine, I would recommend printing two add-on sections, as in the image included, or (2+3n) pieces. 2) The holes through the blades are continuous, so it might be possible to thread wire rope or printing filament through the blades to reinforce and attach the sections together without only relying on glue 3) the central section is also parametric, and defaults to 8mm, allowing you to use M8 threaded bolt for the drive shaft to the generator. Since the shaft mount and motor/generator mount will depend on the type used, I will leave the design of that section as an exercise to the user. When/if I have my printer running, I will probably publish the motor enclosure, using a commonly available motor/generator as the basis. And don't forget - It's Parametric! Print it as large as you dare. Play with the settings, including the radius and NACA profile. I suspect I will print quite a couple of these variants when my printer gets on line... Something else to try may be to only print the add-on modules in multiples of three in order to get the build size up on printers with smaller build envelopes. As is the STL files attached are more likely POC model sized than for generating any serious power. Then again, there is merit in having a couple of long thin spires combined rather than one big turbine...