Miniature Dust Devil Tornado

This is a miniature dust devil tornado simulator I made using 3D printer components. The vortex is visible through ultrasonic mist which is problematic because it is heavy and cools the air which weakens the updraft created by the coffee cup heater in the center. There is no updraft fan placed above like in many tornado vortex simulators, instead this one uses only heat. A small blower fan and 3D printed component provide the rotation. The right ratio of rotation and updraft is very important to form a chimney like vortex as can be seen in the video. Too little rotation and the vortex will be unstable and fail to form fully. Too much rotation and the vortex will experience vortex breakdown and become a wedge shape with air sinking in the center. I have found that these are incredibly sensitive to air currents in the room, and I even had to point a space heater at an exterior wall for a short time to mitigate convection currents which were disrupting the vortex just above the 3D printed fins. Eventually I’ll make a desk top model that can be turned on with a single switch and is easy to add water to.

[@simonsach4359]

im trna making dust devil maker too and i got inspired😅

[@felicitousfeline9956]

“ultrasonic mist which is problematic because it is heavy and cools the air which weakens the updraft created by the coffee cup heater”. What if your heat source was a bit higher temp? Components are looking sleeker than older iterations!

[@falljazz]

I want to keep the heat on the lower end to keep it safer, and the mist actually evaporates if you get it too hot. The sleeker components are thanks to Mark's 3D printer lol

[@simonsach4359]

can i ask if i can get the stl files🤌

[@falljazz]

Unfortunately the STL files for this model are a bit of a mess as I had to make a lot of updates to get it to work correctly. Because this was a prototype, there are a lot of unnecessary features and design flaws. If you try to make your own, I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.