Introduction: $5 3D Printed Mini Vacuum Cleaner

By Makewithrex
About: So basically i am a crazy person, who loves to think the most odd way ever possible,who makes what he thinks and also let other also make those . Check out my crazy projects if you like do follow me :D


Hey, Guys in this week's project, We will be making a vacuum cleaner by salvaging an old motor from a hair drier.
The main purpose of this project was to the repurpose old motor and learn how a vacuum cleaner work and then design a handy Mini Vacuum Cleaner

I am using the following part in this make

Motor: https://amzn.to/2PLGV3o

PLA Filament: https://amzn.to/2R6Buwh

Orange Spray Paint: https://amzn.to/2R6Buwh

Black Spray Paint: https://amzn.to/2S3VIrC

3D Printer https://amzn.to/2PLoc7S

Wire: https://amzn.to/2PLggUi

Soldering Station: https://amzn.to/2S52MnV

Nut and bolts: https://amzn.to/2q50bxy

Step 1: Choice of the Fan Blade

Now the heart of the vacuum cleaner is the fan blade which will throw the air out and create a suction of air in the through the nozzle.

Choice of Fan Blade
Now there are two type of fan blade

&lt

  • Axial fans, as the name implies, move an airstream along the axis of the fan. The air is pressurized by the aerodynamic lift generated by the fan blades, much like a propeller and an airplane wing.

  • Centrifugal fans use a rotating impeller to increase the velocity of an airstream. As the air moves from the impeller hub to the blade tips, it gains kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is then converted to a static pressure increase as the air slows before entering the discharge. Centrifugal fans are capable of generating relatively high pressures. They are frequently used in “dirty” airstreams (high moisture and particulate content), in material handling applications, and in systems at higher temperatures.

So the choice is obvious. We need to use a Centrifugal design for getting the best pressure at the nozzle.

Step 2: Designing of the Centrifugal Fan

We start by taking the motor we will be using for the project. Using a vernier caliper we Measure the dimension of the motor.
We create a parametric design in Fusion 360
with the following parameter

  1. Motor diameter
  2. Motor Height
  3. Motor shaft diameter
  4. Motor shaft length

Step 3: Printing the Impeller

Once the Design Part of was over it was time to print the whole impeller

I used a Black Wanhao Filament to print the impeller using the following setting

  • Layer height: 0.1mm
  • speed: 40 mm/s
  • Infill 15%
  • Shell Thickness: .8mm

Step 4: Printing the Rest

Now it was time to print the rest of the of the Parts
There are Several parts in this build.

  1. The nozzle
  2. The Impeller Case
  3. The Filter
  4. The Motor Case

The Motor case is bottom-most part and holds the motor.
The next part is the Impeller case, holds the blade and has outlets for the air going out in the circular direction.
This is connected to the motor case by m3 nut and bolts

The next part is the filter. this collects the dust. it has small holes to let air pass through it and is connected to the impeller case by a thread feature.
The last Part is the nozzle which acts as an Inlet for the air to be sucked by the vacuum, this is also connected to the filter by same thread feature

Step 5: Spraying the Case

The whole print took overnight after every part was printed it was time to spray paint them to the color they were intended to.
To start spray painting we needed to make a spot where we can spray painted.
I took some old newspaper to prepare a surface for painting, then using some leftover wooden block from my table project I Sprayed the Parts, I rotated the base to make the paint completely cover the whole body evenly.

I must say orange color looks extremely good on this. what do you say ??

Step 6: Spraying the Other Half

The nozzle and the filter were supposed to be black so we took Matte Black Spray Paint and covered them up with an even coat of paint, in a similar manner. Now it was time to let the paint dry overnight.

Step 7: Soldering the Motor

It was time to solder the motor with a 24 AWG wire. Strip the wire and then tinned it.
then we solder the two terminal of the motor with the tinned wire.
The wire will be connected to a power adapter.
The motor is powered by a 12V 2 A Power adapter

Step 8: Assembling Motor

Now it was time to assemble all the parts together, first, we fit the motor in the motor case. Then attach the motor case to the impeller case using 3 M3 nuts and bolts.
The blade is attached to the shaft of the motor inside the impeller case. Then the filter is attached to the impeller case with a thread feature. Similarly, the nozzle is connected the filter by the similar thread feature.

This means the nozzle can be connected directly to impeller case also.

Step 9: Time to Suck

I tested the suction of the vacuum cleaner with paper, it sucks easily the paper, leaving the table totally cleaned.

For emptying the filter, all you need is to stop and drop the collection in a waste bin.
This vacuum cleaner is just an illustration of the idea, the total design can be improved with a better fan design and motor, Do you want me to build one?

BTW guys if you like this project and want to get updates on what's cooking in the workshop follow us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/makewithrex

Subscribe us on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/prajjwalnag