Vacuums need static pressure more than speed of airflow, and I think that's where the designed impellor let you down. Excellent first attempt, and I look forward to seeing updates

Next step: design a complete vacuum cleaner 😅

That's real engineering 😁 : designing, testing, failing and doing it again ! And always learning something. Thanks for this video.

Fun bit of experimenting. But I'd point out that most centrifugal blowers/pumps have a flow vs 'head' trade off. If you design a rotor for maximum flow rates, it probably will not develop much differential pressure. And vice versa. The differential pressure can be important when you think about how you need to draw the air through a dusty filter bag.

Am building DIY Vacuum cleaners for like 3 years now as part of my hobby and here are some tips that could help: 1. As someone in comments already pointed out, vacuums need static presure cuz when u "block" that properel with a *filter* it behave like if u block the intake. It will just spin without actually sucing anything. Maybe thats also why u had so little powerdraw. Cuz if u block the intake its like in a vacuum, there is no air resistance so the motor can achive desired RPM without drawing so much current. 2. Most comercal vacuum cleaners use some form of flexible material as a housing for motor with propeler. Its for reducing some unwanted noise from vybration of the propeler. When I was printing that housing I used TPU. I was able to make it completly silent with it so I could only hear the airflow. 3. 3D printers cant make a perfect propeler. Its not posible. Due to uneven infill or some extrusions... You cant make a perfect circle. It will vybrate and that can couse some problems for the bearing inside the motor. I personally killed multiple motors for this so I just switched back to DC motors. Cuz they are cheap and relatively easy to control. The best "circles" I had was when I had these setings in my slicer: seams setuped at random, 3-4 perimeters, avoind crosing perimeters - true, hexagonal reduced infill, z-hop (I used PETG) and I usualy print on higher temperatures. This reduce visual quality but highly increasing the strengh and lifespan of the propeler. (once my propeler exploded and it was not nice, so strengh is more important than look) 4. In your design you needed to make the housing bigger becouse your propeler was scratching the housing. Keep an eye on this cuz the bigger is housing the less airflow u can achive. With these I was able to make a vacuum cleaner that was stronger than the original one and also more silent. Fun fact, I build 2 last year and one is workin to this day. The other one died cuz it accidentaly inhaled a cake with a screw when I didnt had filter on it... So it exploded... EDIT 1: Just to make things clear, am not eating a "screw cake" I was eating a cake next to some screws cuz I was repairing a PC EDIT 2: I forgot to say that I printed TPU housing with 0.8mm nozzle. Idk why but 0.4mm print was absorbing less noise. 0.8mm is silent for unknown reason EDIT 3: Propeler was printed in PETG and the feature "avoid crosing perimeters" are just need cuz PETG is stringing as hell so with that setting there are almost no strings EDIT 4: That silent cleaner was handy for myself cuz I was doing a lot of vacuuming near a 1yo baby that is scared from a loud noise.

"Get a new one! I need a better vacuum cleaner!" -"No. We have a better vacuum cleaner at home"

The thing about your impeller is that you ended up reducing the diameter. If you want to design one with real math, i can give you a few steps that are usually involved. 1. Find the max speed you can turn. 2. Find the cross section of the inlet. 3. Find the cylindrical surface area of your outlet. 4. With speed at the inlet you get volume flow. 5. With pressure at the inlet you get mass flow. 6. With mass flow, area of inlet and outlet and tangential speed of impeller at the inlet and outlet you get the angle of attack of your impeller at both ends. 7. The number of fins will impact static pressure if i remember right. The maths for all of this isnt really hard, you just need to understand relative speed, conservation of mass and rotational/tangential speed relation.

Great Scott thank you for another great video! What we learn from failures and suboptimal outcomes are often more important than what we learn from our successes. I really enjoyed watching what you learned from each iteration. I also loved the premise of the project which was essentially "I don't have to do this, I just want to."

imagine being an electronic maker and throwing something away just because it doesn't work the idea itself is absurd

Increase the surface area of the impeller. The airflow of an impeller is defined by the speed (as you pointed out) and its surface area. By increasing the number of fins or by increasing its size overall, you can increase the airflow quite considerably. In my last blower project, I needed a 150% increase in airflow. This was just about manageable without changing the motor by increasing the impeller size by 30%. At that point, the torque of the motor reached its limit. Bear in mind though that higher torque generates more heat. You can temper PLA and ABS (and almost all plastics) in a home oven to greatly increase its tolerance to heat, although it will result in shrinkage. The Formfutura Volcano PLA filament is a good option here, too, as it allows you to temper the parts with minimal shrinkage.

I love the idea of fighting e-waste, but you replaced the battery and its board, the impeller, the motor and the speed controller. The only thing that's left of the vacuum is the shell. And you made 4 plastic prints along the way.

Trial and error is where great things start. This is already a job well done because you managed to figure everything out and make something out of the things you have lying around.

As others have mentioned, you'll need to work on static pressure. A lot of impellers will put the outside wall of the enclosure onto the impeller itself, that way they don't have to try to get the blades close to the walls for better pressure. I'm curious what you could get away with just replacing the stock motor with a subtable BLDC motor with better speed than the brushed motor.

Next step: Design a new gf

Really enjoy your videos. You are always so creative and patient and I normally learn something left-field, which is what it's all about. Well done and keep going!

You are the type of guy that I would trust. If YOU recommended a product that I was in the market for, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it! You are a *VERY TRUSTWORTHY* engineer!

Thanks for all your videos Scott! This is like the best channel on youtube. I am working on something similar and had an impeller get friction welded to the housing haha!

Haha! Love the Makita mod. I modded the small vacuum I have in my office at work to take a DeWalt battery last year. Everyone laughs but it works great, the battery charges super quick, and I can swap the batteries quickly. All it took was a cordless impact one of our techs dropped from a tall scissor lift. Now I need to supersize the motor and impeller to take it up another notch.

I love this video. It's engineering in a nutshell - constant revision and improvement. Trial and error and many failures that lead to a successful outcome. Great work

Great video! Very interesting. For a self professed "not a mechanical engineer" the impeller turned out pretty damned nice. Well done.

Excelent video! I would suggest using the old impeller of the vacuum cleaner but mounted on a higher kv bldc. If you could double the rpm, it would be amazing. That should increase both airflow and static pressure. The factory impeller should be stronger and better ballanced than the 3d printed one.

Repairing and/or reusing things with 3D printed parts is probably my favorite thing about 3D printing. I've got so many broken things in my house that I've kept going just by printing a few cents' worth of plastic, y'know, like "you thought I was done with you just because your grip broke? bitch I'm gonna make a whole new housing as long as your motor's still spinning" xD

Real no bs engineering and DIY builds. Thank you ...

I love how you share your failures! I hope I can see more of this project in the future, very interesting! 🤓

The old design of the propeller is there for a reason. It’s not all about flow, but also about the relationship with the pressure. Use the old design, with a new stronger motor (higher rpm, too) and you’ll be rock solid.

This inspired me to make an HEPA fume sucker with an old fan from an inflatable matress. Good work!

A great watch, thank you! I can't wait to see the second generation of your vacuum cleaner.

I have designed multiple fans/impellers/pumps etc. It is borderline maddening to get something balanced and turning at high speed on a 3d printer to work well.

I would love a deep dive into why that 500W brushless controller wouldn't spin up that standard brushless motor. I have a project I'm working on that where I had the exact same problem with that board, but could never figure out why the 3 different versions of that controller I had would not work with any of my motors.

Something that I find that most people probably dont think of is using 3D printing to print templates. For instance, when you put the potentiometer on the outside and set on labels, you could also 3D print a ring with marks and letters like Low and High and then trace the holes with a paint marker. This is also nice especially when you want to mount something to a wall. Say you have either a tv mount or a power strip that has screws it needs to hook onto but you have no idea what the spacing should be because it is at an odd angle or you are worried about it being crooked. You can measure the holes with calipers and print out a single or double layer template and get the locations exactly.

I love your channel GreatScott, perfect demonstration of different engineering methods!!

Honestly I learned so much new stuff by watching you today I learned what RPM stands for and what KV and KVA is and how to find RPM and a lot more thank you so much , I would literally pay to subscribe you love from Maldives , have a great day

Good to see you being eco-conscious. E-waste is a big problem and I have seen it first hand how it litters creeks. Plus it also gives you a warm good feeling that you fixed something you could have simply thrown away.

Good job. Perhaps introduce cyclonic flow to improve flow and dust extraction?

My old vacuum cleaner melted so I had to buy a new one. Still kept the old one though for this exact reason. Glad I stumbled upon this video!

I'm currently working on a vacuum turbine design currently The challenging bit at the moment is getting sufficient static pressure to be able to produce good suction. The amount of air that the turbine can flow when it's being run open air is insane though! Hopefully when I shift over to a BLDC motor with controller I should be able to get a substantial RPM increase which will gain a good static pressure. I'm aiming to use a 3300kV 540 motor with 60A ESC. The current motor is a brushed 540 that spins around 12,000 RPM.

Dude you are one lucky man! I wish I had a wife that only talks in subtitles. I would imagine she would be mad if you blinked for a long time if you guys faught though.

I think this would be a perfect application for carbon fiber reinforced plastics! They don´t deform as much at these high speeds as simple PLA or ABS would due to the forces involved

I really like this video, and your style of implementing situations is truly awesome.

This is a valuable lesson to all those who thing manufacturers don't care. They actually do spend considerable time perfecting their products, while trying to limit the cost as much as possible.

Didn't think it was physically possible.. but I'm really blown away by how much this video.. *SUCKS* 😆 Can't wait for part 2 👍

you could also use one of those server fans , they have a lot of power, come with flow correction (the rotating wind is converted into straight flowing wind using two opposite rotating fans) and they are also cheap+ do not heat as much as normal bldc motors.. i have some of them from sanyo and they all working fine

Oh YES !!!! We need a part II !!! Or even a mini-series on that specific topic ! a bit like another well-known channel with PC fans ^^

I believe that the volume of air being pulled in cannot escape fast enough with so few exhaust holes IE add more/bigger exhaust holes = +10hp! Great project. Awesome video!

My pet peeve is the noise of these things. I wonder how quiet you can get it at a given performance level. Perhaps there's someone proficient with this sort of fluid dynamic design things who can lend a hand?

What do you do with all the discarded plastic from the 3D printer?

Brilliant work, dude! Really well done! 😃 I've never thought of a brushless vacuum cleaner! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Glad to see my impeller tests were useful! Great video

Fantastic work! I don't know if it would be possible, but it could be even more efficient with a proper turbocharger :D Jokes aside, if the "exhaust" air would be used to spin the turbine even faster like it is on a real turbocharger on an engine, it should be even faster, at least in my mind it could work :D

Girlfriend reveal? Let's goo... 😂😂

Good choice on the switch to ABS. It's pretty much the go-to filament for anything you need to last long enough. Not only the temperature resistance is important (since, sometimes it's not even a problem), but more importantly, the resistance to creep. PLA would be a far better filament for final use prototypes if it wasn't so weak to creep. Anything under any kind of load will warp with time if made with PLA, far less on PETG and pretty much won't warp with time on ABS (yes, it also does creep, but to a WAY lesser degree), even at low temperatures, and much more so on higher temperatures. Specially since you've got a Bambu Lab X1C after all, which can do ABS with far less hassle than open frames (tho, those parts would even print on open frame machines with a draft shield enabled on the slicer).

Best insides in engeneering thinking. Great work and effort 👍

Good luck making your girlfriend happy.

I 18 volt everything. When my dyson stick vac went through its 2nd 14.4 volt pack I also converted to makita 18 volt. It lasted about 2 years until the wheel exploded. I ended up taking the cyclone off of it and taping it to the front of a black and decker 14.4 volt that I had converted to 18 volt. Found out the dyson was an extremely high static vac, gutted the inside of the cyclone and removed all restrictions, now it works as good or better than the original design( for my garage, the original pulled through a very restrictive hepa filter) . The cyclone still works fine with all the stuff inside removed.I replaced the motor on a first gen makita stick vac with the dyson motor I had laying around. That vac went from anemic to lifting 2x4's. All the vac wheels I have messed with had 2 walls, not just a back wall and exposed blades

thanks for all helping videos and contents✌❤

Great project Thanks for sharing your journey 🙂

Your video is extremely satisfie! Now I know BLDC not only used for RC toy but also for household device! Keep up your video like this

nice project scott, i did something simmalr too but i used turbo desing and high rpm motor around 60W and 5.9mps air speed

As an experienced mechanic/engineer allow me to make a couple suggestions of some things to improve your vacuum cleaner build. First of all, you have to pay attention to the static pressure (less pressure equals less vacuum power and vice verse) Static pressure is a measure of the force exerted by a fluid, such as air, against a surface or obstruction. In the context of a vacuum cleaner, static pressure plays a crucial role in determining the machine's ability to pick up dirt and debris effectively. moving on When looking to replace the electric motor, impeller, and impeller casing of a vacuum cleaner, there are several factors to consider. Here are some important aspects to keep in mind: 1. Power requirements (It is advisable that voltage and power is in range of the original motor if not changing the impeller/casing.) 2. Motor type and design (Brushless motors are generally more efficient, durable, and have a longer lifespan compared to brushed motors) 3. Impeller specifications (Pay attention to the diameter, thickness, and intake hole of the impeller. Changes in impeller size can affect the static pressure and overall performance of the machine.) 4. Impeller casing compatibility (The impeller casing is designed to house and direct the airflow generated by the impeller. The impeller and casing should fit together properly to ensure efficient airflow and prevent any air leakage. Also make sure that the impeller and the casing are compatible with each other.) 5. Quality and durability (Consider the quality and durability of the replacement components.) 6. Installation considerations (Check if any additional modifications or adjustments are required to fit the new motor, impeller, and impeller casing properly.) Moving on Material used to build the impeller and the casing plays a crucial role in generating static pressure as well as better performance etc. They can be made from various types of plastics, such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) or polypropylene. Here are some Pros/Cons for plastic and metal impellers and casings: Advantages of plastic: - Cost-effective: Plastic components are generally less expensive to produce compared to metal parts. - Lightweight: Plastic impellers and casings help keep the overall weight of the vacuum cleaner low, making it easier to maneuver. - Corrosion resistance: Plastic is naturally resistant to corrosion, which can be beneficial in environments where moisture or cleaning solutions are present. - Design flexibility: Plastic parts can be molded into complex shapes, allowing for optimized airflow and performance. Disadvantages of plastic: - Lower strength: Plastic impellers and casings may not be as strong as their metal counterparts, making them more prone to breakage or deformation under high stress or impact. - Heat resistance: Some plastics may have limitations in terms of their ability to withstand high temperatures. This can be a concern if your vacuum cleaner operates at high temperatures or encounters hot debris. Advantages of metal: - Strength and durability: Metal impellers and casings are generally stronger and more resistant to deformation or breakage under high stress or impact. - Heat resistance: Metal parts can withstand higher temperatures, making them suitable for vacuum cleaners that operate at elevated temperatures or encounter hot debris. - Enhanced performance: Metal impellers can provide improved performance due to their ability to maintain their shape and generate higher static pressure. Disadvantages of metal: - Weight: Metal components are generally heavier than plastic, which can add to the overall weight of the vacuum cleaner. - Cost: Metal impellers and casings tend to be more expensive to produce compared to plastic parts. - Corrosion risk: Depending on the specific metal used, there may be a risk of corrosion if the vacuum cleaner is exposed to moisture or corrosive cleaning solutions. ***** Now, to help you with the design of an impeller and the casing.***** - There are several impeller types used in vacuum cleaners, and the efficiency can vary depending on the specific design and application. However, one commonly used impeller type known for its efficiency is the centrifugal or radial impeller. - Centrifugal impellers consist of curved blades that rotate within a housing. As the impeller spins, it creates a centrifugal force that pushes the air outward, generating suction and creating airflow. These impellers are efficient at generating high static pressure and can effectively move air and debris through the vacuum cleaner's system. - Another type of impeller used in some high-efficiency vacuum cleaners is the multi-stage or dual-stage impeller. These impellers consist of multiple stages or sets of blades that progressively increase the pressure as air passes through each stage. This design allows for enhanced suction and airflow performance. - Keep in mind of the shape of the impeller itself and impeller casing, you have to make the design of both in such a way that when operating you can have maximum of the airflow from that turbine. The inside shape plays key role in how will Air flow thru the turbine. - In your case (with printed impeller and casing) to improve a bit you can consider polishing the surface of both, it will help the air pass thru the casing better (less resistance due to rough surfaces of the printed parts) It's important to note that the efficiency of a vacuum cleaner relies on various factors beyond just the impeller type, including the motor power, filtration system, airflow design, and overall construction. Manufacturers often develop proprietary designs and technologies to optimize the performance and efficiency of their vacuum cleaners. Anyway, I am sorry for the long text but it is still not enough to fit it all in the comment. Just to justify my self, I have plenty experience in maintaining turbo compressors, turbines, compressors, high and low pressure compressors or pumps, or any equipment which is directly or indirectly connected to pneumatic and hydraulic systems. Keep up great channel and content

Cool project either way 👍🏻 you made it work and that’s further than most people will get.

Use an inrunner motor for it. It’s like the motors you find in brushless rc cars, they make lots of rpm because the rotors are very light compared to the outrunners that need more torque for what they do. Very cool project

Different numbers of blades, height, "trim", so on can make a massive Difference to the flow on the impaller. Car performance turbochargers are gonna be your best bet for designing your own! The new Garrett G series turbos are moving a lot of air with their impaller and compressor housing designs, so looking that them may be a nice thing to start with

The impeller you choose has a higher throughput but a lower static pressure than the original. You can improve the original, but you either need a full radial again, or to turn the entire stack 180 degree and have a related half radial design sucking radially and bowing straight. Since a redesign of the housing is necessary anyway, to fit a wider motor, both is viable🤗

This was one of your best videos i have seen. More like this. 😃

Can't wait for part 2!

hits close to home 😂 my mom has 3 dyson hand vaccums at home because she buys a new one every time the filter clogs up. I just replaced the battery, the filter, added a new better rear hepa filter, bought tons of accessories all for 1/4th the price of a new one, but with 3x the functionality...

cool video and good process of new designs.. kind of hard to argue about Creating less waste at the landfill with the original fan and motor along with several 3d printed fails

Nice. Less in the way of air holes for the rotor enclosure might improve the result because lower air pressure will allow the impeller to spin faster and experience less drag.

Very fascinating project, I designed lot of turbo compressor for my little vacuum cleaner project. For better results, you should increase static pressure, you can do that by better aligment of blades, maybe spliter blades with better blade curve (for better static pressure, main blades have to look like more likely "S" shaped) and with low tolerance enclousure, I think resin printing is best for it. The root profile is too important because that effects the area of blades, you maybe try to optimize it. I hope you come with new and better projects, nice work!

Congratulations on your 420th vid greatscott! Must be fun.

A lot of work . Realy well played

I like the way you tried something completely new and you actually delivered 😅 Keep up the great work plz Plus some tips : Try better and more motors there might be some other motors that can be more of a help

Magnets are glued. Glue loosens with heat build up. This centrifugal impeller doesn't use the air-flow to cool the motor. You could use aerodynamics that allow using the same air to cool the motor. BLDC works best this way.

I like when you encourage people to be more resourceful :)

Haha! I also made a hand vacuum run with a power tools battery. Have had it for two years now. Mabey i should "overclock" my vacuum aswell! 😅

Good vid as always. I do think a manometer would have been a more appropriate test device. Also a fun DIY project.

Looking forward to part 2, however great effort. :) a bit shocked the brushless DC motor couldn't out perform..

Making any 3d printed object spin at 16krpm is fantastic. Balancing is critical, you can have adjustable balancing weights to make them spin smoothly.

Thank you for doing that. That is my mothers birthday and the funny thing is the first Earth Day was when she was born, so I am happy for that. I have a mother earth essentially.

Impeller design is crucial. Switching from a Closed type impeller to the Semi Open type reduced the efficiency of the impeller. Tolerances are a bit of a problem with plastics, but improving the impeller design is where i would start.

fantastic i think this is a very good result considering

Great Scott!! Good job :)

Ok so, i been there and here is what you can do 1) the tip here is roto speed, forget about clearances and shit (unless they are over 0.8mm or so) you want high speed so, an inrunner bldc is a great idea something like a 3660 (5mm shaft at least) 2) add some back sweep to those blades, make it shorter and as wide as possible, also, make the inlet as big as you can (since we are aiming here for airspeed and static pressure experiment with different diameters (maybe look at Matthias wandel blower experiments (although they dont look 100% the same, the work on a similar principle) mm from the edges if possible) get a better angle of attack in those blades 3) if you need inspiration, go to grabcad and get an already made design (it will probably be the easiest one) and adapt it to your needs (probably look at turbocharger models) i hope that it helps (ik this for working on my 3D printed centrifugal supercharger project.

Sounds like my wife and I, sometimes it works out well and she likes my solution, other times not so much and end up spending more to make her happy. But, i enjoy the challenge of the projects so its worth it to me.

i've never liked the finish on 3d-prints but that black abs looks cool!

Having an Impeller Design Contest (akin to what that one channel does with PC Cooling Fans) may be a good idea. Maybe only once or twice to limit scope creep, but that way you can maybe collaborate with some people who know CFD Crazyness!

Great video thankyou for the upload!!!!

Best solution: buy the replacement part online (i.e. the motor). Takes away the fun of lay-man engineering though. Nice video, keep it up! 😊

Excellent video as always. If you run out of ideas could you make a video about protection over voltage for 5v microcomputers like Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano? I know you made a few of them already but it would be great if you do one specifically for these computers

Hi, Vacuum enthusiast/collector here. This is awesome!

You should add stator vanes to the impeller housing. Also use a high speed drone motor with a higher kv. This should increase the suction by alot.

I will try this with my broken vacuum! Great Video as always!

Might want to replace that propeller with a quieter version, I don't remember the details but the key point was the fins circling back on them selves as a loop rather than suddenly ending with an edge like your existing one does. It's a recent discovery that they're both more effective and quieter. You'll have to do the research yourself though if you want more in depth detail since I only saw it on the "undecided" vids (I think).

Good job man!

I had a similar problem with an hot-air gun, the motor was slow more and more, the problem was the carbon contact, It seems that the contact reduces because the material of the carbons goes off, so I opened the motor and push a bit the carbons. And thats it!

It's great that you still posted your results even though you didn't beat the ground truth (original design)! We live in a sterilized world with a mortal aversion to publishing bad or neutral results, both in "real life" and in academia, to the detriment of us all.

Bro that that FBO stage 3 vacuum🔥🔥

Amazing results for a first go at impeller deign. I would recomend, however, a deign more similar to the original one. First off, the inlet and and outlet area of the impeller (not the case, but the impeller, although this holds true for the case too) should be about the same, if we ignore cinoressibility (we are below mach 0.7 so thats a safe assumption). I would do this by, counterintuitively, decreasung the inlet area. The key with centrifugal pumps is the development of the centrifugal force by fkinging the fluid from near the center of rotation all the way out to near the edge of the impeller. The air entering near the edge of your current impeller design is not going to actually get accelerated that much by the time it reaches the outlet. The axial component of the airflow does not add significant suctuon power for this type of impeller, which is why the oroginal one is so flat rather than long like yours. Good luck with v2!

I would say a gear box to ppositively supplement the motor output would help here. This is amazing

excellent work as usual..