I said It before. This man will leave the planet a better place than he found it. We could all take inspiration and try applie his passion in whatever field your in
Repeating myself but the system you're creating seems like a great way forward. Not only for future revisions but allows to easily branch into other experiments (ex. a water turbine, etc.)
@@hendrikjbboss9973 Why would independent thinkers and doers mind whether or not anyone likes them? "Independent" implies one doesn't need anyone else's recognition or approval, right?
This is one of the best designs that I have ever seen. I need to learn how to use tinkercad. If I could scale that up to take 25mm magnets, I would probably go out and buy a 3d printer and print this out.
You could buy a printer with a 300mm X 300mm X 300mm build volume or even larger than that. Most Slicer software will allow you to scale up your models to fit your larger printbed. Just note that every feature of a model is scaled up (or down) including holes 😮😊
Wondering this could be scaled up and printed in pieces that clip and glue together to make a decent size turbine like that big 1kw turbine you made a couple of years ago?
I would just love to see this type of windmill put up and tested to finally break the myth that the three blade standard are better than the vertical type.
@@Xanderbelle Agreed. Hundred-meter turbines are utility-scale, but not everybody needs utility-scale generation. VAWTs don't scale up but they do multiply. Different solutions for differing applications.
@@edmundzed9870 Maybe I misunderstood. If you're referring to utility-scale turbines as "three-blade standard," then they're definitely Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines. (HAWT)
It would work even better if you use a reversed toroidal model as wind inlet something similar as that what you showed as in a yet motor and make multiple air stream in the narrowest part of the toroidal inlet and let thé accelerated high pressure air stream push a turbine.
I really love your channel. Have you considered printing blades in a spiral on the conical section at the same pitch as the blades from 0 to the depth of the blades? Thanks for all you work.
Well done. The thing to remember about turning this into hwat is that lower wind speeds will still cause it to turn as the wind speed increase as it circumvents (goes around or in this case through) the obstacle!
I would really enjoy seeing an upscaled version of this (at least 1 meter dia.), how to build it for long term use...as well as some performance calculations for larger sized versions. All the best and thank you for doing these great video.
Wonderful Rob! Have been mulling this over and thinking that the cone portion is adding a lot of weight and drag to the unit. Would using a hollow shaft and immovable cone(ie. cone attached to base through said shaft) thus making the cage part lighter and less drag create a faster spin with more torque. It would thus make a higher output at a lower wind speed and make the unit more robust. Just a thought. Thanks for all that you do Rob! These kinds of videos keep spurring my imagination. Love it!
I suppose the only benefit to a moving cone is that it keeps the rotor moving during lulls in wind power. Not a mathematician so I don't know how these two types would test against each other.
@@paulmurgatroyd6372 That's the question. Would it make a big enough difference to do it one way or another? Will the action as a fly wheel out weigh the lower drag? My biggest point though is this, drag is not the only thing that I am considering here though, a rotating object with air blowing over it has a lift on it. A rotating cylinder can act as a sail for example. The lift will make a difference in how much friction is placed on the rotor shaft. Thus, will all of the above discussed issues make enough of a difference to make it more feasible one way or the other?
very true mate but it also acts as a flywheel - I suspect it's horses for courses on that - but you are right to ask the questioning it is well worth trying what you suggest
@@jamesross1003 At the end of the day, an optimist would say that they are both producing 'free' electricity so unless your energy needs are quite large, both are good.
That cone is a very neat wind farmer, such simple and elegant design! looks pretty effective at redirecting the wind trust.. Here is an idea. Placing plastic bottles around the external rim of the cone in order to slide in the wind, bottles can sing this way. boom, wind to acoustic energy converter. Love this channel , very inspiring, Thanks a lot Good Sir.
Hello Robert I was thinking about having the vertical arrangement attached to a car and let it charge say some additional leisure batteries so will provide additional charging facility if the car was to be running on electric with some mods, just a crazy thought lol. May be be on my prius
Well impressed, Robert. This looks like a form of centrifugal compressor-cum-turbine. I wonder what percentage improvement you might gain if you made a separate, static cone which extended its nose forward of the turbine, with an altered profile towards the rear to better match the parallel turbine cross-section, and added guide-vanes in the manner of a centrifugal compressor? Cheers!
My concern with turning it into a HAWT, is the possibility of the fins falling off. I was wondering if you print the cone tip as a secondary piece that will attach to the rest of it in order to access the center rod in order to "permanently" secure the fins to the center rod, preventing it from eventually falling off. Just my thought. Sorry if that didn't make much sense. LOL!!
Oh that's nice. I've created something like this a 15 years ago but i had hardly any tools and it sure wasn't engineered this beautiful. It did produce some energy but putting load on it made it slow down quite dramatically
Dear Robert, great idea! Could you compare your self made coil with an more easy motor / generator (Thereby I mean of the shelf)? This would also need way less copper and magnets. For me (and I guess for many) it would be best if I all parts can just bought as cheap as possible. ("normal" motor, funnel?,...) Thanks a lot!
Amazing work, when I get my first 3d printer, I know exactly what I'll be printing. But I have questions, in what orientation will it be more effective? Then you could answer the HAWT VS VAWT question once and for all
BTW, considering your wind collector with flaps and the fact that these systems are better suited for urban environments, I kept thinking about a system that would prevent the flaps from banging shut and I think small magnets coupled with copper on the opposing surface will slow it down enough to prevent noise while still allowing closure. A thin gasket would help with the final dampening and seal.
I would so love to work in one of the surrounding businesses - every day I’d be peering out every so often to see if Robert or Luke were testing concepts and joyfully laughing when it worked so well “in the wild”. I’d especially have been round when they were in the rocket-stove phase to admire the stove designs - ok to warm up too and maybe sneak a bacon roll 😂
Two applications for this come to mind: 1. Mounted on the underside of a large balloon to get higher altitude winds. At low speeds, the wind would interact with the turbine like a VAWT. At higher speeds, the balloon would begin to act like a drogue parachute and align the turbine into the wind to act as a HAWT. The balloon/turbine assembly would be moored to the ground via a cable running from the tip of the turbine cone. Whether to attempt to transmit torque through the cable or to carry the generator with the balloon is a whole other looney tunes thought experiment 😂 2. Mounted as part of a combination wind/wave power generator. The turbine would be mounted (again, upside down) on top of a standpipe so that any airflow from the pipe would need to leave via the turbine. The other end of the pipe would be submerged in the body of water creating waves. As the waves rise and fall, they would displace the air in the pipe, creating a fluctuating flow that turns the turbine. The turbine would also spin in any incidental wind flow in low-wave conditions. The pipe may need some check valves and an alternate inlet to ensure one-way (exit only) flow through the turbine. 🤔
Hi Rob, You now can test 3 orientations to compare. Vertical with and without(yes it should give at least 50% in this config) Darwin tower, horizontal . André in Sydney
Not just brilliant, absolutely next level. You are at another level all together. You could put a bank of horizontal and a bank of verticals on a bank cliff near an ocean.
Lovely design. It is by nature a HAWT as the wind direction is perpendicular to the rotor. In the VAWT mode you have to 'bend' the wind 90 degrees to make it work!
Hi Robert, I am a newcomer to the channel. Frankly it is brilliant. I am not an engineer so forgive my naivety, I'm thinking..... if you introduced a large conical air capture (mounted onto the housing), in front of the turbine, could this increase the force of air without having to increase the current mechanism. As the aperture at the front is increased wouldn't it exponentially increase the capture and therefore the collected thrust. Just a thought.
There is a distinction between the axis of rotation relative to the ground, and that relative to the air flow. If the air flow is vertical,down, the turbine is a HAWT rotated 90°.
What type of 3d printer do you use? I live up a hill in Edinburgh and get constantly strong winds most of the year except in the summer. So, ideally, I would love to make a few and see how they perform. Love this channel, very informative 👍
Amazing work! Can the same design be adapted and added to a bicycle as a generator? Be a good idea for a next step in the concept and lots of video content. Keep up the great work!
thank you - i've downloaded the files but not printed them yet, when you replaced the bearings with the cartridges i wonder what size you needed ? with some ceramic cartridge bearings reckon that'd be really awesome.
This is really cool! I was already considering using this in an aeromine type windmill (if that's even the right terminology. Maybe 'wind collector' would be better) after your last video. This confirms it. Thanks! Btw, do you think it would work better in the horizontal if you re-printed it with the blades in the opposite direction? In other words pointing inwards?
Markirish is not the only one that thinks that of you thank you, I live in an end of terrace house and the gap between us and the neighbours house has near permanant wind in mostly one direction. Rob have you considered extending your 8mm bar enough to pass through the centre cone then modify that with another bearing and it would be better centred and able to lay horizontal
I think you should take a look at evan levys magnetic system ,hes looking for someone who could add to his ideas and i think you are the man with the other half of the puzzle ,hes on you tube , it would be interesting to see what you both could do together
This type of generator would excel in situations like my house, on the slope of a hill with each set of semi-detached houses offset. The wind comes up the hill, hits the side of the house and blasts down the passage between the houses. A nice directed flow just waiting to be used.
Hi Robert, can you do a direct comparison between horizontal and vertical use of the same turbine? so we can see what difference there is, especially since you have run this in both configurations😅
Great design, and especially _simple._ Your videos are gradually weaning me off the desire for ever greater efficiency. I am now starting to believe that it _is_ ok to sacrifice some efficiency for simplicity. I think you'll be aware of the Aeromine design, right? Hence my question: Will this turbine work in reverse? With air being _sucked in_ through the blades, and then up and out along the central cone? 🤔
Have you thought of making the inverted cone on the Darwin Waters wind capture device an open cone at the bottom that overlaps the top tip of cone on the turbine? (I hope that description makes sense. Basically so the two tips of the two cones meet but the one on the top let’s air go through) That way you could stack multiple Darwin air capture devices on top of each other and get more air coming down the more you stack.
Making the top inverted cone of the Darwin capture device open at the bottom would also allow you to make them bigger and funnel the air to a smaller area and potentially make a Venturi effect. They could also get bigger as you stack them.
With the inverted open cone in the Darwin wind capture, wouldn’t it also make sense to have the cone have a steeper angle so less air passes through to the other side? So just a slight angle that guides almost all of the wind downward. Like a cone that’s closer to a cylinder than an equilateral triangle.
Right now the cone for the Darwin wind capture device starts at the bottom of the device. So I guess I’m saying, what if the cone of the Darwin device instead start at the inside top of the device and then came down through it. Maybe down through a little farther down than the device itself.
How do you keep the top from flying off when turned horizontal? And, how much larger would I have to make it --- including the serpentine coil --- so this can this be a 12-24v generator?
If you mark a vertical line from the conical point to the base of the rotor, you’ll be able to demonstrate the rpm to the viewers. Still marvelling at the old leccy meter’s mesmerising black bar. 👍🏻
My concern with any wind turbine that is not a HAWT is the ability to actually produce any decent amount of power. All the vertical axis turbine designs we have experimented with spin easily in the wind, but stop dead when any kind of real load to create electricity is applied to it. A horizontal axis turbine has naturally more torque and inertia to keep it going due to the distance from the hub of the device to its perimeter (ie the radius of the blade sweep). However I am really intrigued with your design. With your permission I would like to construct a 1m diameter version of your turbine, along with an enhancement or two I've been thinking about, and then showing the results once we apply a load to it to create an electrical current. I think your design is a perfect wind turbine for rooftops where HAWTs are not permitted in urban areas.
Jack of all wind Turbines ! Very nice, think you could put a row of relatively small one on the rooftop and charge batteries in windy areas ? Without all that eye sore from big turbines, plus I think you could get more amps per square meter than other types of rooftop units ??? Could be wrong ?
I guess that with the cone and the wings separated so that the cone is fixed and only the wingtips rotate, the turbine would spin even faster. I think the air would produce a kind of repulsion power that might support the rotation if the cone is fixed. But maybe I'm wrong.
I'm curious for I haven't been watching thedevelopment of this design, but in the VAWT configuration, won't the wind have to be coming from directly above the generator, i.e directly above the cone's nose? I gather the cone disperses the wind that hits it "nose on" into the blades around the circumference? If so, is some form of wind capturing device required to funnel the wind down onto the cone from above?
I don't believe current wind farms where designed to create power efficiently. The powers that be don't actually want energy independence for the people. They would much rather us being dependent. Denmark have some of the largest wind farms in the world and many have been scrapped for making bicycles which is why Denmark is now covered with bikes and bike lanes. The others that are left are in need of constant and expensive repair that is unsustainable. Thanks for bringing this stuff to the average Joe! Would love to see some efficiency numbers and performance numbers on this little beauty!!
This gives me a couple ideas Are you able to figure out if that design of turbine would be useful to put on vehicles? I understand that turbines on a vehicle introduces drag but would this design introduce as much drag as others?
Fantastic Stuff, amazing how fast this has developed. is that the widest print available for your printer, i wondered what would happen if you made it as wide as you can for your printer, catch more wind, longer winding more power ?!?!? soooo tempted to buy a 3D printer like yours now
in a HWT application, could you put this device into the 'nose' of a nacelle, so that there is, effectively, a "vacuum" behind its rotor outside edge; it seemed that a previous video showed almost no outflow velocity from the fan, so that placing the fan inside a nacelle, with an open tail end, would maximize the pressure differential between the "inside" and "outside" of the fan... a sketch would help, but...
Can also mount a collector based on the darwin collector along the roof ridgeline and channel it to the ends where you put the generator. Shroud the exhaust so the normal wind blowing over just that section creates a low pressure zone to suck the exhaust out magnifying the effect somewhat.
That looks great. Sorry if I missed that in a previous episode but any reason why there was no measurement in this video please? (I though you might do some towards the end of the video but there was no mention of it at all) Thank you
it really makes for super dull videos if I am measuring and measuring and measuring mate - I do a few - often at the beginning and end of a series - but it is rare for me to do more than volts in between as the volts measurements really just show a speed increase of the turbine rotation - I also did a video explaining what measurements I take and why lololol
This would be interesting in the water. The coils could be covered in resin to make them waterproof. I bet in low flow situations it would work better than in the wind.
I suppose you could use a very wide horizontal funnel to direct a greater surface area of wind down at 90° to the turbine. Saving space and turbine size.
I'm sure there is some way you could make the tail fin evenly balanced with the turbine on a pivot so that when there is low wind the turbine will be in the vertical position, but as the wind picks up past a certain speed then the tail fin will raise up and lower the turbine into a horizontal position. Definitely would need to focus on the bearing system to ensure it can get the most out of both configurations.
I’ve been looking at waters turbine. It has a negative zone right behind the turbine. Is it possible to take advantage of that? I’m aware of a francis and pelton. My thinking is to have it flow exit on a 45degrees? mean it can still spin but take advantage of the bypass flow that generates negative pressure void that suck more air in? Maybe a winglet mod on each blade to slightly turn the flow? Much like turning the flow back on itself? Bio plow come to mind? Viktor schauberger work into fluid flow might help the design? Atm you have the flow exiting radially? Which is good. Dyson has done work into impellers I’m just wondering if that would help as well? Could be as simple a angled scallop. On the inside edges? Which then might improve the air flow through the turbine? Leading to improved efficiency? In theory your not trying to stall the wind, But take advantage of its features? It why a francis turbine work well in water. If I recall correctly there was one francis turbine that achieved 98% efficiency? But doc google says 95% if well designed? Im not sure if it possible to increase the Revolution from the same input? Maybe double the Revolutions? Therefore increasing output?
Congratulations Rob, but you will need to add a few more "blades" to equal the Swiss. (Wenger Giant has 87 tools and 141 different functions. It was produced in 2006 and is the world's most multifunctional penknife. It includes every implement the company ever made, including a large blade, a small blade, a saw, a corkscrew, a bottle opener, a can opener, a reamer, a screwdriver, a tweezers, a toothpick, and many more. It weighs 1.4 kilograms and measures 8.75 inches by 3.25 inches. It is not a practical knife to carry around in your pocket, but it is a great conversation piece and a testament to the ingenuity of Swiss engineers). However I would posit that yours will have far more applications😋🫡
very nice build 👍 similar to an automotive internal cabin blower fan. best part is simple build that does not use much energy to make or global environmental impact.
You could also extend the axel by 2-3mm and add a locking ring on the end. That way there's no way for the rotor to fall off and could definitely help with the maglev in the horizontal position
Hey Rob, why not couple a thrust bearing with your maglev setup? Frictionless until the limits are reached and the magnets are overcome... then the thrust bearing will support the structure? Love your channel. ❤👍
Hi Sir, I think the INVOLEX or INVELOX wind turbine construction would be a good combination with this kind of turbine. What do you think about it? Have a nice weekend!
This turbine would make a great test tool for testing the effectiveness of the Darwin collector. I think a side by side comparison of one turbine as a HAWT facing the wind directly and another identical turbine enclosed in a collector would answer the question of any usefulness of the Darwin design. My guess is that all that extra structure does is give the wind something to try to go around. I would be happy to be shown wrong.
Have you considered the temperature any design is likely to reach under varying wind speeds (coils/magnets) there looks plenty of scope to add in some cooling vents As I understand it PLA may be liable to warp at temperatures above 80°c
Brilliant! I think the VAWTs are prettier, like a nice chimney or flower pot, which have been around since houses were "invented." Why not incorporate a plug into the the base, or add a small digital voltmeter/analyzer, so you can see what's going on in the wild? If the design works, you might use that plug to gang a few together to charge a battery.
I said It before.
This man will leave the planet a better place than he found it.
We could all take inspiration and try applie his passion in whatever field your in
that is such a kind thing to say mate - thank you for taking the time to say it - cheers
i get so much joy from this. From the cheery disposition of this man to the project itself.
Repeating myself but the system you're creating seems like a great way forward.
Not only for future revisions but allows to easily branch into other experiments (ex. a water turbine, etc.)
oh boy - wait til tomorrow mate lol
Industry does NOT like independent thinkers and much less doers 😂
@@hendrikjbboss9973 Why would independent thinkers and doers mind whether or not anyone likes them?
"Independent" implies one doesn't need anyone else's recognition or approval, right?
I'm coining a new term: TWAT Two Way Axis Turbine. Feel free to use it ubiquitously. 😉
lolololol
😛
Amazing energy to you and to flow. Loving it. You are unlimited. Respect
Thank you so much 🤗
This is one of the best designs that I have ever seen. I need to learn how to use tinkercad. If I could scale that up to take 25mm magnets, I would probably go out and buy a 3d printer and print this out.
You could buy a printer with a 300mm X 300mm X 300mm build volume or even larger than that. Most Slicer software will allow you to scale up your models to fit your larger printbed. Just note that every feature of a model is scaled up (or down) including holes 😮😊
it's pretty easy to scale mate
Wondering this could be scaled up and printed in pieces that clip and glue together to make a decent size turbine like that big 1kw turbine you made a couple of years ago?
Put a tail on it yes, but don't forget a collection shroud cone too. Brilliant Dr. Smith. Well played.
cheers mate
I love it when you get so enthusiastic.
lol cheers
It's even got the pointy thing to get stones out of horses hoofs brilliant 😁
lololol - well spotted lol
amazing work you do RM-S truly inspirational
cheers mate
I would just love to see this type of windmill put up and tested to finally break the myth that the three blade standard are better than the vertical type.
Three blade is the easiest way to make Big sweep areas
@@Xanderbelle Agreed. Hundred-meter turbines are utility-scale, but not everybody needs utility-scale generation.
VAWTs don't scale up but they do multiply. Different solutions for differing applications.
@@Struthio_Camelus Elaborate please, the 3 blade standard is a vertical type and so is this one. I don't understand what you are saying.
@@edmundzed9870 Maybe I misunderstood. If you're referring to utility-scale turbines as "three-blade standard," then they're definitely Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines. (HAWT)
that takes a lot of money and time mate and you can be guaranteed to never finish it lol
When I have wind there's always plenty of noise.
indeed
You should blame the dog
It would work even better if you use a reversed toroidal model as wind inlet something similar as that what you showed as in a yet motor and make multiple air stream in the narrowest part of the toroidal inlet and let thé accelerated high pressure air stream push a turbine.
@@ThinkingandTinkering Cover the mic with sonn my e hair ball
That pointy hat design makes it look rather futuristic, love it.
I really love your channel.
Have you considered printing blades in a spiral on the conical section at the same pitch as the blades from 0 to the depth of the blades?
Thanks for all you work.
Well done. The thing to remember about turning this into hwat is that lower wind speeds will still cause it to turn as the wind speed increase as it circumvents (goes around or in this case through) the obstacle!
Love this channel. Might be joining I think. This design would work well with a funnel to push air in instead of the roof mounted version.
Like a Darwin?
agreed
I'm printing mine this weekend and can't wait!
nice! Igo for it mate
I saw my bird feeder blowing in some wind then I thought this could use a hanging model.
I would really enjoy seeing an upscaled version of this (at least 1 meter dia.), how to build it for long term use...as well as some performance calculations for larger sized versions. All the best and thank you for doing these great video.
Considering that you're standing behind it, being a wind block, that is pretty darn impressive.
Wonderful Rob! Have been mulling this over and thinking that the cone portion is adding a lot of weight and drag to the unit. Would using a hollow shaft and immovable cone(ie. cone attached to base through said shaft) thus making the cage part lighter and less drag create a faster spin with more torque. It would thus make a higher output at a lower wind speed and make the unit more robust. Just a thought. Thanks for all that you do Rob! These kinds of videos keep spurring my imagination. Love it!
I suppose the only benefit to a moving cone is that it keeps the rotor moving during lulls in wind power. Not a mathematician so I don't know how these two types would test against each other.
@@paulmurgatroyd6372 That's the question. Would it make a big enough difference to do it one way or another? Will the action as a fly wheel out weigh the lower drag? My biggest point though is this, drag is not the only thing that I am considering here though, a rotating object with air blowing over it has a lift on it. A rotating cylinder can act as a sail for example. The lift will make a difference in how much friction is placed on the rotor shaft. Thus, will all of the above discussed issues make enough of a difference to make it more feasible one way or the other?
very true mate but it also acts as a flywheel - I suspect it's horses for courses on that - but you are right to ask the questioning it is well worth trying what you suggest
@@ThinkingandTinkering Exactly, will not know unless we compare them.
@@jamesross1003 At the end of the day, an optimist would say that they are both producing 'free' electricity so unless your energy needs are quite large, both are good.
That cone is a very neat wind farmer, such simple and elegant design! looks pretty effective at redirecting the wind trust.. Here is an idea.
Placing plastic bottles around the external rim of the cone in order to slide in the wind, bottles can sing this way. boom, wind to acoustic energy converter. Love this channel , very inspiring, Thanks a lot Good Sir.
Love the idea of moving with the wind direction.
Hello Robert I was thinking about having the vertical arrangement attached to a car and let it charge say some additional leisure batteries so will provide additional charging facility if the car was to be running on electric with some mods, just a crazy thought lol. May be be on my prius
Brilliant. An advantage of that horizontal position is that you can mount lots of them on a vertical pole or surface.
Well impressed, Robert. This looks like a form of centrifugal compressor-cum-turbine. I wonder what percentage improvement you might gain if you made a separate, static cone which extended its nose forward of the turbine, with an altered profile towards the rear to better match the parallel turbine cross-section, and added guide-vanes in the manner of a centrifugal compressor? Cheers!
My concern with turning it into a HAWT, is the possibility of the fins falling off. I was wondering if you print the cone tip as a secondary piece that will attach to the rest of it in order to access the center rod in order to "permanently" secure the fins to the center rod, preventing it from eventually falling off. Just my thought. Sorry if that didn't make much sense. LOL!!
very cool design - and it looks to be quite effective.
Thank you Robert.
my pleasure mate
Oh that's nice. I've created something like this a 15 years ago but i had hardly any tools and it sure wasn't engineered this beautiful. It did produce some energy but putting load on it made it slow down quite dramatically
Loving this little turbine, I'd like to mount a few of these in some sort of pod just beyond a roof ridge.
practice becoming perfect well done good Sir. Have a wonderful day!
Dear Robert, great idea! Could you compare your self made coil with an more easy motor / generator (Thereby I mean of the shelf)? This would also need way less copper and magnets. For me (and I guess for many) it would be best if I all parts can just bought as cheap as possible. ("normal" motor, funnel?,...) Thanks a lot!
I have already done it mate
Amazing work, when I get my first 3d printer, I know exactly what I'll be printing.
But I have questions, in what orientation will it be more effective? Then you could answer the HAWT VS VAWT question once and for all
I honestly don't think it will matter which way round
BTW, considering your wind collector with flaps and the fact that these systems are better suited for urban environments, I kept thinking about a system that would prevent the flaps from banging shut and I think small magnets coupled with copper on the opposing surface will slow it down enough to prevent noise while still allowing closure. A thin gasket would help with the final dampening and seal.
Thank you very much...
I would so love to work in one of the surrounding businesses - every day I’d be peering out every so often to see if Robert or Luke were testing concepts and joyfully laughing when it worked so well “in the wild”.
I’d especially have been round when they were in the rocket-stove phase to admire the stove designs - ok to warm up too and maybe sneak a bacon roll 😂
Two applications for this come to mind:
1. Mounted on the underside of a large balloon to get higher altitude winds. At low speeds, the wind would interact with the turbine like a VAWT. At higher speeds, the balloon would begin to act like a drogue parachute and align the turbine into the wind to act as a HAWT. The balloon/turbine assembly would be moored to the ground via a cable running from the tip of the turbine cone. Whether to attempt to transmit torque through the cable or to carry the generator with the balloon is a whole other looney tunes thought experiment 😂
2. Mounted as part of a combination wind/wave power generator. The turbine would be mounted (again, upside down) on top of a standpipe so that any airflow from the pipe would need to leave via the turbine. The other end of the pipe would be submerged in the body of water creating waves. As the waves rise and fall, they would displace the air in the pipe, creating a fluctuating flow that turns the turbine. The turbine would also spin in any incidental wind flow in low-wave conditions. The pipe may need some check valves and an alternate inlet to ensure one-way (exit only) flow through the turbine. 🤔
Hi Rob, You now can test 3 orientations to compare. Vertical with and without(yes it should give at least 50% in this config) Darwin tower, horizontal . André in Sydney
Not just brilliant, absolutely next level. You are at another level all together. You could put a bank of horizontal and a bank of verticals on a bank cliff near an ocean.
Lovely design. It is by nature a HAWT as the wind direction is perpendicular to the rotor. In the VAWT mode you have to 'bend' the wind 90 degrees to make it work!
Hi Robert, I am a newcomer to the channel. Frankly it is brilliant. I am not an engineer so forgive my naivety, I'm thinking..... if you introduced a large conical air capture (mounted onto the housing), in front of the turbine, could this increase the force of air without having to increase the current mechanism. As the aperture at the front is increased wouldn't it exponentially increase the capture and therefore the collected thrust. Just a thought.
There is a distinction between the axis of rotation relative to the ground, and that relative to the air flow. If the air flow is vertical,down, the turbine is a HAWT rotated 90°.
What type of 3d printer do you use?
I live up a hill in Edinburgh and get constantly strong winds most of the year except in the summer. So, ideally, I would love to make a few and see how they perform. Love this channel, very informative 👍
Amazing work! Can the same design be adapted and added to a bicycle as a generator? Be a good idea for a next step in the concept and lots of video content. Keep up the great work!
Yes, absolutely
thank you - i've downloaded the files but not printed them yet, when you replaced the bearings with the cartridges i wonder what size you needed ? with some ceramic cartridge bearings reckon that'd be really awesome.
Inside of a 'turbine nacelle' that faces the wind directly [using a steering vane], it should spin like crazy, even with relatively low wind speeds.
This is really cool! I was already considering using this in an aeromine type windmill (if that's even the right terminology. Maybe 'wind collector' would be better) after your last video. This confirms it. Thanks!
Btw, do you think it would work better in the horizontal if you re-printed it with the blades in the opposite direction? In other words pointing inwards?
I honestly don't know
I am loving you videos. However, I need something large enough to power a small home with battery back up. Where can I find something like that?????
Markirish is not the only one that thinks that of you thank you, I live in an end of terrace house and the gap between us and the neighbours house has near permanant wind in mostly one direction. Rob have you considered extending your 8mm bar enough to pass through the centre cone then modify that with another bearing and it would be better centred and able to lay horizontal
I think you should take a look at evan levys magnetic system ,hes looking for someone who could add to his ideas and i think you are the man with the other half of the puzzle ,hes on you tube , it would be interesting to see what you both could do together
This type of generator would excel in situations like my house, on the slope of a hill with each set of semi-detached houses offset. The wind comes up the hill, hits the side of the house and blasts down the passage between the houses. A nice directed flow just waiting to be used.
Wondering if you would make two then compare power output wattage in real time with one vertical and one horizontal (with fin).
Hi Robert, can you do a direct comparison between horizontal and vertical use of the same turbine? so we can see what difference there is, especially since you have run this in both configurations😅
"Will probably just create a new argument" sad but true, so it's a variable axis modular wind turbine? That's pretty neat
that is a neat description mate
Great design, and especially _simple._ Your videos are gradually weaning me off the desire for ever greater efficiency. I am now starting to believe that it _is_ ok to sacrifice some efficiency for simplicity.
I think you'll be aware of the Aeromine design, right? Hence my question: Will this turbine work in reverse? With air being _sucked in_ through the blades, and then up and out along the central cone? 🤔
Have you thought of making the inverted cone on the Darwin Waters wind capture device an open cone at the bottom that overlaps the top tip of cone on the turbine? (I hope that description makes sense. Basically so the two tips of the two cones meet but the one on the top let’s air go through)
That way you could stack multiple Darwin air capture devices on top of each other and get more air coming down the more you stack.
Making the top inverted cone of the Darwin capture device open at the bottom would also allow you to make them bigger and funnel the air to a smaller area and potentially make a Venturi effect. They could also get bigger as you stack them.
With the inverted open cone in the Darwin wind capture, wouldn’t it also make sense to have the cone have a steeper angle so less air passes through to the other side?
So just a slight angle that guides almost all of the wind downward. Like a cone that’s closer to a cylinder than an equilateral triangle.
Right now the cone for the Darwin wind capture device starts at the bottom of the device. So I guess I’m saying, what if the cone of the Darwin device instead start at the inside top of the device and then came down through it. Maybe down through a little farther down than the device itself.
it does make sense and I have thought about it
Very cool, nice video Rob. Cheers brother
cheers mate
How do you keep the top from flying off when turned horizontal? And, how much larger would I have to make it --- including the serpentine coil --- so this can this be a 12-24v generator?
Have you considered a Gurney flip on the trailing edge of the aerofoils?
If you mark a vertical line from the conical point to the base of the rotor, you’ll be able to demonstrate the rpm to the viewers. Still marvelling at the old leccy meter’s mesmerising black bar. 👍🏻
nice suggestion - cheers mate
My concern with any wind turbine that is not a HAWT is the ability to actually produce any decent amount of power. All the vertical axis turbine designs we have experimented with spin easily in the wind, but stop dead when any kind of real load to create electricity is applied to it. A horizontal axis turbine has naturally more torque and inertia to keep it going due to the distance from the hub of the device to its perimeter (ie the radius of the blade sweep). However I am really intrigued with your design. With your permission I would like to construct a 1m diameter version of your turbine, along with an enhancement or two I've been thinking about, and then showing the results once we apply a load to it to create an electrical current. I think your design is a perfect wind turbine for rooftops where HAWTs are not permitted in urban areas.
Jack of all wind Turbines ! Very nice, think you could put a row of relatively small one on the rooftop and charge batteries in windy areas ? Without all that eye sore from big turbines, plus I think you could get more amps per square meter than other types of rooftop units ??? Could be wrong ?
I guess that with the cone and the wings separated so that the cone is fixed and only the wingtips rotate, the turbine would spin even faster. I think the air would produce a kind of repulsion power that might support the rotation if the cone is fixed. But maybe I'm wrong.
I'm curious for I haven't been watching thedevelopment of this design, but in the VAWT configuration, won't the wind have to be coming from directly above the generator, i.e directly above the cone's nose? I gather the cone disperses the wind that hits it "nose on" into the blades around the circumference? If so, is some form of wind capturing device required to funnel the wind down onto the cone from above?
I don't believe current wind farms where designed to create power efficiently. The powers that be don't actually want energy independence for the people. They would much rather us being dependent. Denmark have some of the largest wind farms in the world and many have been scrapped for making bicycles which is why Denmark is now covered with bikes and bike lanes. The others that are left are in need of constant and expensive repair that is unsustainable. Thanks for bringing this stuff to the average Joe! Would love to see some efficiency numbers and performance numbers on this little beauty!!
I'd love to see a video with these in action, om a rooftop, maybe a few, feeding into the mains, idea of what savings can be made etc.
This gives me a couple ideas
Are you able to figure out if that design of turbine would be useful to put on vehicles?
I understand that turbines on a vehicle introduces drag but would this design introduce as much drag as others?
Would something like this even need brakes for very high winds to avoid breaking up?
How do you run the wiring for a wind turbine that is constantly moving? Love your videos.
Fantastic Stuff, amazing how fast this has developed. is that the widest print available for your printer, i wondered what would happen if you made it as wide as you can for your printer, catch more wind, longer winding more power ?!?!? soooo tempted to buy a 3D printer like yours now
no my printer prints at 420mm by 420mm by 500mm - but most folks print in this range and want this accessible
in a HWT application, could you put this device into the 'nose' of a nacelle, so that there is, effectively, a "vacuum" behind its rotor outside edge; it seemed that a previous video showed almost no outflow velocity from the fan, so that placing the fan inside a nacelle, with an open tail end, would maximize the pressure differential between the "inside" and "outside" of the fan... a sketch would help, but...
Can also mount a collector based on the darwin collector along the roof ridgeline and channel it to the ends where you put the generator. Shroud the exhaust so the normal wind blowing over just that section creates a low pressure zone to suck the exhaust out magnifying the effect somewhat.
nice ideas mate cheers
You could use 2 paint cans of old pots to make this. One fits in the other . The rest can be made by cutting up pvc pipe etc
nice - yes you could do that
Do you sell these units? I don’t have a 3d printer and I’m not really good at diy! Really enjoy your videos and the progress in these designs.
There are places that will custom print anything you want. You don't need to own a 3d printer. A Google search will find their contact information.
No, sorry I don't but the files are there and there are places that will 3d print stuff for you
That looks great. Sorry if I missed that in a previous episode but any reason why there was no measurement in this video please? (I though you might do some towards the end of the video but there was no mention of it at all)
Thank you
it really makes for super dull videos if I am measuring and measuring and measuring mate - I do a few - often at the beginning and end of a series - but it is rare for me to do more than volts in between as the volts measurements really just show a speed increase of the turbine rotation - I also did a video explaining what measurements I take and why lololol
Nice. Compact fin-print too.
Sure is!
There's a big vertical one in Bristol near Cabots Circus that has never once actually been seen spinning since it was installed 😅
This would be interesting in the water. The coils could be covered in resin to make them waterproof. I bet in low flow situations it would work better than in the wind.
I agree mate - wait until tomorrow lolol
@@ThinkingandTinkering Brilliant! Looking forward to it!
Looking at that, I think it would work under water too!!
Always interesting to see,
I suppose you could use a very wide horizontal funnel to direct a greater surface area of wind down at 90° to the turbine. Saving space and turbine size.
How about mounting it vertically on a pole, within the aft-of-centre of a de Laval nozzle?
I'm sure there is some way you could make the tail fin evenly balanced with the turbine on a pivot so that when there is low wind the turbine will be in the vertical position, but as the wind picks up past a certain speed then the tail fin will raise up and lower the turbine into a horizontal position. Definitely would need to focus on the bearing system to ensure it can get the most out of both configurations.
That's where the mag lev baring comes in to play.
I’ve been looking at waters turbine. It has a negative zone right behind the turbine. Is it possible to take advantage of that? I’m aware of a francis and pelton. My thinking is to have it flow exit on a 45degrees? mean it can still spin but take advantage of the bypass flow that generates negative pressure void that suck more air in? Maybe a winglet mod on each blade to slightly turn the flow? Much like turning the flow back on itself? Bio plow come to mind? Viktor schauberger work into fluid flow might help the design? Atm you have the flow exiting radially? Which is good. Dyson has done work into impellers I’m just wondering if that would help as well? Could be as simple a angled scallop. On the inside edges? Which then might improve the air flow through the turbine? Leading to improved efficiency? In theory your not trying to stall the wind, But take advantage of its features? It why a francis turbine work well in water. If I recall correctly there was one francis turbine that achieved 98% efficiency? But doc google says 95% if well designed? Im not sure if it possible to increase the Revolution from the same input? Maybe double the Revolutions? Therefore increasing output?
Congratulations Rob, but you will need to add a few more "blades" to equal the Swiss.
(Wenger Giant has 87 tools and 141 different functions. It was produced in 2006 and is the world's most multifunctional penknife. It includes every implement the company ever made, including a large blade, a small blade, a saw, a corkscrew, a bottle opener, a can opener, a reamer, a screwdriver, a tweezers, a toothpick, and many more. It weighs 1.4 kilograms and measures 8.75 inches by 3.25 inches. It is not a practical knife to carry around in your pocket, but it is a great conversation piece and a testament to the ingenuity of Swiss engineers).
However I would posit that yours will have far more applications😋🫡
That is very very exciting, horizontal or vertical. I do prefer the vertical. this is great.
How does it cope with high winds? High winds that might destroy the "fan".. Would you use brakes?
very nice build 👍 similar to an automotive internal cabin blower fan. best part is simple build that does not use much energy to make or global environmental impact.
You could also extend the axel by 2-3mm and add a locking ring on the end. That way there's no way for the rotor to fall off and could definitely help with the maglev in the horizontal position
absolutely
are you printing a Darwin collector for the top of this fan? do you have a clip to hold the roter on the shaft?
yes and yes
Hey Rob, why not couple a thrust bearing with your maglev setup? Frictionless until the limits are reached and the magnets are overcome... then the thrust bearing will support the structure? Love your channel. ❤👍
Hi Sir, I think the INVOLEX or INVELOX wind turbine construction would be a good combination with this kind of turbine. What do you think about it? Have a nice weekend!
I agree but the darwin is very similar
great turbine! Great Show!
make the seat for the thrust-baring a bit deeper in both stator and rotor and it works either way without falling out :)
This turbine would make a great test tool for testing the effectiveness of the Darwin collector. I think a side by side comparison of one turbine as a HAWT facing the wind directly and another identical turbine enclosed in a collector would answer the question of any usefulness of the Darwin design. My guess is that all that extra structure does is give the wind something to try to go around. I would be happy to be shown wrong.
Have you considered the temperature any design is likely to reach under varying wind speeds (coils/magnets) there looks plenty of scope to add in some cooling vents
As I understand it PLA may be liable to warp at temperatures above 80°c
Brilliant!
I think the VAWTs are prettier, like a nice chimney or flower pot, which have been around since houses were "invented."
Why not incorporate a plug into the the base, or add a small digital voltmeter/analyzer, so you can see what's going on in the wild? If the design works, you might use that plug to gang a few together to charge a battery.
I agree mate - VAWTs are superior in many ways - but we could be just showing our prejudice lolol
I love this man
wow - cheers mate