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Anyone have/see any wind generator plans where you can 3d print the blades?. Seems like it could be fun...

I'd be interested in that too.

I've been printing this one. Down to the wind vanes and I still need to pick up a hub generator.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:938257

Cool but that doesn't sound like an Ohio accent! I grew up in Ohio.

I found this one some time ago but have not yet printed it.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:948401

I would like to play with this, but no plans

http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au ... and-effici

Hmmm http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:775104

mhackney wrote:Cool but that doesn't sound like an Ohio accent! I grew up in Ohio.

I grew up in Ohio, then Mississippi, then Georgia, then back to Ohio, then back to Georgia, then Alaska, then North Carolina, then back to Alaska, now back in Ohio. Most of the time was Georgia and Alaska though.

I'd guess you spent a lot of time among Alaskan natives. That's what I'm hearing. Not hearing Georgia at all.

Eric wrote:I'd guess you spent a lot of time among Alaskan natives. That's what I'm hearing. Not hearing Georgia at all.

Yea, I lost that accent pretty quick. Still pick it back up if I'm down there for more than a couple weeks though.

What would be the best material for something that has to survive sun, wind, bugs, and precipitation, for years at a time?

Google says ASA or paint it.
https://www.amazon.com/rigid-ink-Filame ... B01LT4EC9U

626Pilot wrote:What would be the best material for something that has to survive sun, wind, bugs, and precipitation, for years at a time?

I'd guess an uncolored, fiber filled Nylon. ABS deforms when stressed, PLA sags over time (outdoors, anyway) and shatters when shocked, colorants bleach... No material is perfect, but the Nylon alloys I've played with are unbelievably tough and durable by comparison. Add some rigidity to that with some impreg, and printing limitations aside (heat and shrinkage), you've got a near perfect combination in my opinion.

Another option: http://www.krylon.com/products/uvresist ... -coating/

My house has outdoor power points that had translucent plastic hinged doors over them. The hinges broke on one of them. I made a replacement of translucent white ABS and clear-coated it, and it's been on the house for a year now and seems fine. It's on the side of the house, under an eave and close to the fence, so it's not in direct sun as much of the time as some other applications would be, but it's a data point anyway. I've always clear-coated anything I intended to be used in direct sun.

I wonder if it would be useful to install a governor that could change the prop pitch. Large wind turbines and complex propeller planes have these so that they can alter the angle of attack on the blades. In the case of a large wind turbine, it needs to be able to slow down the blades when the wind is too fast, otherwise the turbine will throw a blade and immediately rip itself apart. Lowering the AOA does this. It may also be that the optimal AOA In light wind is different than the optimal AOA in heavy wind, but I don't know. Other factors would be the generator having an optimal RPM band, or a do-not-exceed speed above which the bearings would wear out prematurely, or the magnet wire gets too hot, causing the plastic to soften.