My Hoover is fixed by the wonders of 3D printing

[zenith12]

I was e mailed by a vacuum lander that he had 3D printed 2 Hoover 450 impellers for me to test in my 1933 Hoover 450 it now has good suction now.

 

[ultralux88]

I LOVE it! I've been wondering when these printers would get good enough to actually create useable vacuum parts like this!

 

[thomas_squared]

That is awesome. What material did you use? Did you balance the part or just use it as is?

 

[betam64]

I was that vacuum lander!

I'm glad you're enjoying it! It always bummed me out to see every other post about a Hoover 450 was someone looking for an impeller, and mine also needed one, so I felt like this was a good solution.

I printed it in white PLA plastic, and the model itself is already incredibly well-balanced (both mathematically based on the model's dimensions, and physically, after the print concluded). When I tried these impellers, there was no sign of rattling, or movement that would imply an imbalance, so these are ready to go after removing support material.

I made a thread a while back about my original design, though the one being shown here in Mark's post is my third version of the impeller. Versions 1 and 2 weren't strong enough, versions 3 and 4 (the ones I sent him) are much better. It looks like he's using the third version on his vacuum.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Mark,

That is excellent. Nobody DREAMED, so many decades ago, that modern technology would do something like this to resurrect a machine like that!

 

[zenith12]

I thank you very much

I have just used it for the first time and it works great

 

[blackheart]

question

Patrick is your 3d printer ABS compatible? I've read that ABS is a stronger material and some 3D printers/pens are compatible with it.

 

[betam64]

Hi Devin!

Fortunately, my printer is compatible with ABS, though that's a tricky material to print with. I still have yet to "perfect" my setup for printing it.

My end goal is to print them using polycarbonate filament, which is the strongest available 3D printer filament. Though, like ABS, it's a bit more difficult material to print with.

Right now, the prototypes are just in PLA, which I may make a lower-budget alternative in the meantime. I would like to record a video at some point that showcases some stress tests for the impellers, such as sucking up rocks and screws and stuff.

 

[madman]

I would really balance the blades for realzies. However, they're probably so lightweight that a slight imbalance won't do much anyway. I wonder how long they will last. But hey, at least availability is no longer a problem!

 

[huskyvacs]

If you can at least make the parts strong enough to take a reasonable amount of beating, save the templates and setups, you can just keep making them as they break as a workaround to the limited durability.

That's always been the one caveat for DIY 3D printing, is getting the right plastic formula to where the parts hold together and don't bust apart.

For less high strain parts like trim pieces, wire connectors, and other such and such this is a great solution.

How does it sound though with a plastic fan? I know with Kirbys it is a major kill on the sound of the vacuum when a metal fan is swapped with plastic.

 

[betam64]

How would you recommend going about balancing them? As far as I could tell, the finished impeller didn't need any additional balancing, but I'm never opposed to improving it more.

I also wonder how long it will last. That's probably my main concern, and also the reason why I sent him two (one design more durable than the other). Once I get to mine again I hope to conduct some more longevity tests...

As for the sound, I thought it sounded better than the original, though that's because the only metal impeller I had was missing all its blades. Overall, I'd always recommend an original if you can find one, but parts for these machines are incredibly limited...

 

[madman]

Buy a Dubro balancer. It's for model airplane propellers. Mount the blade on it per instructions, and slowly rotate it around, stopping every couple degrees. Whenever it tries to turn itself backwards to a certain position, the bottom of it where it stops is heavy. Mark the heavy side and repeat to confirm. Shave some material off of the heavy side with a box knife or file. Repeat until it no longer attempts to rotate back to a certain position.