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Testing and Comparing 3D Printed Blower Impeller Designs
0:00 A 3D printed impeller for a blower was received, but the accompanying housing was kept by the sender; a new housing was designed and printed, requiring scaling adjustments.
0:36 A test housing for the impeller was constructed using construction lumber, based on a SketchUp design, to facilitate controlled testing.
1:29 A test setup was created using a Raspberry Pi to control the motor via a smart plug and collect data from an anemometer and pressure sensors.
1:48 Initial baseline tests were conducted using a simple paddle instead of the impeller to measure the motor's power consumption under load at various RPMs.
2:18 Flow rate measurement methodology involved placing the anemometer inside a box at the outlet to try and achieve a more uniform airflow reading. Pressure differences between inlet and outlet were also measured.
3:40 Power consumption was measured using both the AC smart plug and a DC power supply; the DC readings were deemed more reliable and used for analysis.
4:03 Motor-only power (no load) was measured and subtracted from the loaded power (with paddle/impeller) to isolate the power consumed by the aerodynamic load, confirming an expected relationship close to RPM cubed.
4:36 The 3D printed impeller with backwards-facing fins was tested, showing it consumed less power but moved more air compared to the simple paddle at the same RPM.
5:29 Efficiency analysis (comparing power required for the same airflow) showed the backwards-facing impeller was significantly more efficient than the paddle.
6:09 The impeller orientation was reversed (by flipping the housing) to test the performance with forward-facing fins.
6:46 The forward-facing fin configuration moved substantially more air at the same RPM but consumed dramatically more power, causing the motor controller to struggle or lose phase at higher speeds.
7:11 Comparing power consumption versus airflow rate (unrestricted), the backwards-facing fins were generally more efficient, though the forward-facing fins produced higher peak airflow before potential motor overload.
7:52 Tests were conducted with restricted airflow (simulating ducts/filters by using a smaller intake hole) for both fin orientations.
8:10 Under restricted airflow, the backwards-facing fins demonstrated a much larger efficiency advantage over the forward-facing fins, which used considerably more power for similar airflow.
8:50 The improved efficiency of backwards-facing fins under restriction is likely due to reduced turbulence compared to forward-facing fins, which tend to just churn the limited air.
9:16 While forward-facing fins might move more air even under restriction (if the motor is powerful enough), a larger blower is generally a better solution for significantly increased airflow requirements.
9:29 A comparison is made with commercial blowers: squirrel cages (low RPM, high volume), vacuum cleaners (high RPM, high pressure), and leaf blowers (radial fins, high pressure).
10:16 Dust collectors often use straight (radial) fins, requiring a balance of pressure and volume. Crucially, dust must be filtered before the impeller to prevent damage and imbalance.