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A compact automatic folding spherical propeller
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VIDEO
This is the drone concept that gave me the idea of trying to create the PCB motor and spherical folding propeller! Both of these projects need a lot more work and improvement to make this drone feasible but at least now I have a starting point :)
This is the thrust results of the first Spherical Folding Propeller prototype:
The results are not so bad considering the size of the propeller (1.6cm diameter when folded) and that no air-flow simulations were done during design. I'm going to conduct simulations for the next prototype, to try and make the propeller as efficient as possible.
This is the setup used to measure the thrust. The propeller was suspended around 15cm above the scale, to eliminate ground effect.
The first prototype has a sphere of 16mm diameter. When the blades are opened, the propeller has a total length of around 3.7cm. Its total weight is around 0.6 grams.
The first Spherical Folding Propeller prototype is made from:
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Totally agree :) This first prototype was more of a concept to validate the automatic folding and unfolding of the propeller and experiment with the idea.. next step would be to make the propeller as efficient as possible
good luck. I new type of foldable propellers is really needed
This looks interesting. Can you elaborate on advantages of such a design, compared to the more traditional propellers? Apart from a cool looks, that is.
The idea behind this spherical prop design was to allow a drone to be easily placed in a pocket/bag without worrying of bending or breaking its propellers. My aim is to make it fold and unfold automatically.
I see. I wonder if it would be possible to make it have better aerodynamic properties than right now at the same time.
As someone who often crashes my micro drone, an automatic crash detection and quick reverse thrust might be useful. This could even be used like a sparrow folding it’s wings when it flies though small gaps - useful to dart through tree branches.
I'm currently testing its thrust and comparing it to other propellers in the same size range.. More info coming soon :)
I think that it would be great for rubber band powered free flight models because when the rubber band runs out of energy, it would fold, reducing drag.
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Hey man, the design is nice but .. the idea of the shape is not. Ther are lot of reasons why the propellers are like what you see today. Your design is one of the first trys in the human history.
So, now, use the folding mechanism and try to use it to a working propeller. This will be mch better.