Even Erichsen developed a 30W DIY electricity generator which you can 3d print name "The Beest".
The Beest is powered up by hand (or other mechanica source) via the series of gears: ‘1:2 + 1:4 + 1:3, so one turn rotates the rotor 24 times. The rotor is set up like a 3 phase axial flux generator, with three stators and six rotor plates with a total of 96 neodymium magnets.
Very cool project, but full instructions are not released yet. If you have some knowledge of electric generators, you will be able to recreate this.
Here is the project description by the creator:
This is a working hand cranked power generator. The rotor, in the picture, spins up to 1500 rpm, and produce about 30 watts. I recommend building the rotor as seen in the fbx-file, for more power. Needless to say – this is a huge print! Minimum 200+ hours....
On the hardware side you need 96 neodymium magnets (25mm diameter x 10mm), about 1,3kg of enameled copper wire, preferably six steel plates, a pile of nuts & bolts, electronics - including an Arduino nano, display, bridge rectifier(s), diodes, capacitors, resistors, voltage regulators etc. If you want to etch the PCB yourself, you will need a blank 160mm x 100mm copper board and your preferred chemicals.
Hristo Borisov developed and published a set of 3D printable socket and switch modules that are controlled by ESP8266. ESP8266 is very interesting piece of electronics since it is very small, affordable (some 4 USD) and powerful since it has WiFi and can be used as Arduino. With this project you can control your electric devices via WiFi remotely and setup a simple DIY smart home project for a fraction of a price of commercial proprietary solutions.
Sockets are fully 3D printable and are of standard European "Schuko" type, designed in Autodesk Fusion 360. Design is modular so you could probably easily change it to any other socket standard.
There is even an iOS app for remote control of modules. Project is also open source so they get extra pints in my book.
Project homepage with all the code and instructions:
Brian developed a 3d printable DIY PMG generator ideal for producing electricity from small wind turbine. You will need some disc magnets and copper wire, but you will get a functioning generator. It can produce up to 50 watts at high RPMs.
Here is the generator being assembled and tested:
Here are four generators mounted on a modular multi-blade wind turbine in a strong wind:
The files and manual are not free, but come at reasonable 35 USD:
There are several other non-printable DIY generators on that page so it's a good resource for anyone interested in home-made wind power.
If you are looking for larger DIY generator of the same type for bigger diameter wind turbines, there is a complete manual in PDF format that can be found at: https://www.scoraigwind.com/pmgbooklet/itpmg.pdf (remember to click the captcha that you are not a robot). It gives out much more power, but you will need some heavier woodworking, bigger magnets, resin and longer blades and higher tower.
Air heat exchanger is a useful ventilation system part that will enable you to save energy while maintaining a good air flow in your enclosed space. It uses the outgoing air form the heated space to warm the cold air that is going from outside. Heat is thereby recovered and energy consumption for heating decreased. They are mostly used in passive or low-energy houses or buildings, but they can be used in most insulated spaces. There are also applications where you can cool the air coming in. The entire system is also called Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV). You maintain air flow which improves indoor air quality, reduces bacteria and mold buildup, stabilizes the moisture but you don't need to open the windows and still keep some 70-80% of heat that would normally be wasted.
Yvo de Haas developed a small DIY 3d printable version that he implemented in his house with excellent results. The heat exchanger itself is printed in PLA while tubing is standard PVC with standard 60mm fans to drive the air. The electric fans can be noisy but they can be easily replaced with quieter ones.
He developed two versions of this DIY HRV: one that is partialy 3d printed and one that is fully 3d printed.
Here is what Yvo writes about the fully 3d printed unit tech specs:
The completely 3D printed version is, as the name suggests, completely 3D printed. To make it I modified my Ultimaker with an E3D V6 with 0.25mm nozzle.
The walls of the exchanger are 0.3mm thick. The outside dimensions of the exchanger are 15x8x7cm but it has an internal surface area of around 1000cm² (1/10th of a square meter or about a square foot). It is printed in PLA and takes around 10 hours to print at 0.16mm layer thickness.
With special adapters it can fit 60mm fans and all the other adapters I have designed special adapters were printed to connect the 60mm fans to the 3D printed exchanger.
Fully 3d printed heat exchanger element. Here is where the magic happens.
Heat exchanger installed on the window with fan ventilators attached.
Yvo measured and logged the temperature data:
The 4 temperatures (unit does not matter):
Hot in (the warmer air that enters the hot side of the exchanger)
Hot out (the warmer air that exits the cool side of the exchanger)
Cool in (the cooler air that enters the cool side of the exchanger)
Cool out (the cooler air that exits the hot side of the exchanger)
Does it work?
The answer, YES. After running for over 8 hours while I was at work, the air was a lot fresher. Usually when I come home there is a certain staleness to the air, but now I came home to nothing. Just nice air. I had the logger running for the entire time. The test started around 8 o'clock, every number on the X is 6 seconds. There are 3 zones of interest.
0-3000: Here the air outside is slowly heating up. Temperatures around this point are: HI: 17°C, HO: 10°C, CI: 6°C, CO: 14.5°C, giving 63.6% for the hot flow and 77.3% for the cool flow, averaging 70.5%.
3000-4000: Here the sun hits the window and there is a spike in temperature. No useful data can be gathered from this time.
4000-6000: The air outside is slowly cooling. Temperatures around this point are: HI: 17°C, HO: 12°C, CI: 8°C, CO: 15°C, giving 55.6% for the hot flow and 77.8% for the cool flow, averaging 66.7%.
Full construction tutorial with heat exchange data charts can be found at:
So, I've been seeing a lot of articles in the 3DPI blogosphere about this new amazing 3d printed solar micro-house developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their AMIE project.
Now, what is exactly new here? All the technology is well known for decades and used extensively both by hobbyists, campers, RVers, off grid hippies and big companies ...
Did they just spend tons of tax payers money to create an RV trailer with some solar panels on it and battery powered golf cart? Maybe I just don't understand science ...
Sure, there is some nice futuristic design and a BIG 3d printer (cool toys) but is this really worth it?
Solar panels on RV trailers? Its nothing new ...
Update:
I was not aware of this fact but it looks that this is the largest polymer 3d printed structure in the world. When you exclude cement paste 3d printed buildings (which are controversial) than this could truly be world's biggest 3d printed building or mobile house.
Here is an interesting simple wind power project of a small handheld wind powered Savonius turbine that charges your devices via USB port.
It has 3d printed housing and wind turbine with few electronic pieces and a small DC motor for a generator. The motor could be salvaged form old broken electronic devices.
It could probably be used outdoors in natural wind and indoors as a harvester on a AC unit. There are not many tests on it but it could be improved even if the original design doesn't work.
Doug Conner developed a 3d printable homemade Stirling engine, a type of motor that creates mechanical motion from temperature differential of a medium which is air in this case. The engine is made in ABS on a Stratasys FDM printer.
This engine has some metal (brass, aluminum) parts, couple of metal screws and some rubber O-rings, but that is unavoidable due to the nature of the technology and ABS material limitations.
It takes some 50 deg F (or 28 deg C) of heat differential to move at stable speed at about 300 rpm without additional weight or load. Project homepage:
Bioprinting is advancing rapidly, with many obstacles ahead, but at University of Iowa they are already planing to make "enhanced" 3d printed "superorgans" which also produce electricity that could be used for implanted (medical) devices.
Ozbolat told HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani that while current research is focusing on replacing failed organs, he's also interested in the prospect of developing a "brand new organ" that doesn't exist in nature but which could be transplanted to "enhance the functionality of the human body."
And he's thinking big. One possibility is an organ that generates electricity inside our bodies.
"For complicated organs -- for example, if the heart fails -- then you need a pacemaker. The pacemaker runs with batteries, and when the battery needs to be replaced, surgery is needed," he said. That procedure could be eliminated by creating "an organ that is going to be part of the human body and generate electricity that can run the heart."
Peppermint Energy, based in a South Dakota, has developed a portable, plug-and-play solar generator called the FORTY2.
Described as a solar plant in a suitcase, the FORTY2 draws enough juice from the sun to power lights, laptops — even a dorm fridge. A battery stashes power and delivers it after sundown. Originally a cool product idea for tailgaters and campers, this quickly became a potential life changing source of energy for developing countries where three billion people live without reliable electricity. That means medicine that requires refrigeration could reach places it couldn't go before. The device could also spark commerce in remote areas as entrepreneurs find ways to monetize free reliable power. Watch the story behind this remarkable device and how Stratasys 3D printing based on FDM™ technology using ABS plastic delivered a durable full scale prototype. Just one of the prototyping benefits - Peppermint decided to make the whole device even smaller than intended after carrying the first prototype proved awkward.
