3D printed Hamilton Standard Propeller flown on Tower Hobbies F6F Hellcat (39 inch wingspan).
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- This is a test flight using a 3D printed accurate diameter scale model of the Hamilton Standard propeller on a Tower Hobbies 39 inch wingspan F6F Hellcat. The propeller is 11.86 inches in diameter with a four inch pitch (11.86 x 4).
For me, this was proof of concept that an r/c scale model aircraft could be flown with a 3D printed scale propeller that matched the airframe. In all of my decades of r/c flight, the thing that bugged me the most about scale models is that they always flew with standard hobby propellers, which look completely out of place if you are familiar with the full size variety of airplane.
The downside. 3D printed propellers are fragile, a nose-over will destroy the blades. Mishandling can easily crack a blade. This is why I have not painted any of the propellers, not until I have learned how to keep them intact. Extra propellers are a must have item for every flying day.
The upside. These propellers look great. When the blades break, the pieces are so light that they lose momentum quickly and fall to the ground close by. The biggest surprise is that in all of my testing, which has shattered dozens of blades, the hubs have never suffered damage.
Great job man keep going ❤
Thank you, I plan on it!
Awesome job, works amazing. Would you be willing to release the STL?
Thank you! Yes, I will release the files, though it will be after I finish constructing my new workshop. Most likely that will be at least one month from now, I will alert you here when that happens.
Have you tried printing these in variants of TPU? it might eliminate any brittleness and provide a bit of flex and longevity. I've had very good success using that to make durable objects. four or five top and bottom layers, three or four perimeters, 99% infill (less if you want more flexibility or a softer finished feel) using one of the geometric patterns (I like 3D honeycomb) and you have a varyingly flexible, durable, solid object that retains its shape and stands up to abuse. I've made musical instruments, toys for my kids, parts for RC cars and trucks, even some RC plane parts, automotive parts, tools and holders and stuff like that for around the house, all out of various types of TPU, and it works pretty well.
For most things I like 95A, but for a propeller something like 98A might be better. I don't have any propeller models of this type to test with, but if I did, that's what I'd try first. I've got a 1450mm F4U-4 Corsair, it came with a four blade "scale" propeller, it's 14x8. It looks good on the plane and it works well, but it's not actually to scale with the plane. I did the math, if my numbers are right, a properly scale propeller for this plane would be about 18.56" in diameter. I've not found any scale four blade propellers in that size, so I've stayed with the 14x8 it came with. But I'd really like to make my own 4 blade 18x5 scale props for this plane. I'm even working on a servo controlled variable pitch hub for this plane. For either manual control or mixed throttle control of blade pitch, just like the fullsize planes have. Mostly because I want to see if it works at this scale.
As a final note, many modern "scale" propeller sets come with separate blades and a hub, I wonder if that would work for these? redesign the blades to be able to be swapped out and replaced if they get damaged, since the hub remains intact? You could do the hub assembly in PETG, and the blades in TPU, and that might be just the ticket for this project.
Hi el-dude. Great comment. No, I have not tried TPU, though I am aware of it. Getting advice like you have written is actually priceless, for I would was not even aware of the ratings available for differing outcomes. Mostly for budgetary reasons, I have confined myself to one brand and color of PLA filament recently, because there are tremendous differences in PLA qualities between brands and even colors by the same brand. Even though I have printed over a half-dozen rolls of this particular sapphire blue, it took quite a while and many experimental prints to learn its strengths and weaknesses. My printer is also an ancient DIY kit and even though I have been using it for almost a decade, it is still teaching me new things today (a tinkerers dream machine). I am a little scared to try running material other than PLA through it, fear of the unknown and what any mishaps might cost in down-time and money. One of these days I may even graduate from the early Slic3r slicer program I am still using after all these years!
My propellers do have separate blades and a two-piece hub to capture the blades held together by three screws installed from the rear hub. The dome is press fitted into place over the prop shaft. So far every propeller I have done has used a 1/12 scale hub, I even sized up some B-17 propellers to fit a 1/15 scale diameter but used the 1/12 scale hub.
I looked up the F4U-4 specs, 41 foot wingspan with a four blade 13-foot 2-inch diameter four blade propeller. At 1450mm wingspan, your Corsair is 1/8.61848 scale (1/8.62 when rounded). That comes out to a scale diameter of 18.333 inches. I have 3D drawings for a four blade Hamilton Standard propeller for the Corsair, as well as the three blade. I have been working with the three blade extensively lately, so I can transfer the modifications I have made while refining the three blade to the four blade, then scale them up to your size.
If you are interested in printing a scale version of Corsair prop for your model, shoot me an email. Click on the coolmodelguy icon under the video and go to my home page. My email address is there. I would love to collaborate with you on a flying 3D printed propeller in this larger size, my airplanes are all too small for these types of experiments. Cheers!
@@coolmodelguy6304 Email sent! Thank you!
@@coolmodelguy6304 Also, where did you find information specifying 13'2" for the four blade propeller? I looked all over online, in reference books, and I didn't find anything to state that the 4 blade had a smaller diameter than the 3 blade, everything I found just gives 13'4" for the plane. I actually assumed that the 4-blade IS smaller, but could not find any documentation to show definitively that it is. So that's the number I used for my calculations.
But, using your numbers (1/8.61848) and 13'4", it comes out to 18.5647582, so I was pretty close. Thanks for confirming that. that's a big propeller for ANY plane. I'll probably have to beef up the electronics to swing something that big on my F4U-4, even if it has a relatively shallow pitch. That's one of the many reasons why the "scale" propellers are always smaller than they should be. I'll have to do more research before I try it, but I'm definitely on board with doing some testing.
Similar 3 and 4 blade in-scale props for my other smaller warbirds and so on would be worth testing as well. I'm interested to see how they fare with the props they should have vs the ones I actually fly with.
@@elduderinolebowski5411 - Here is the page where I found the specs for the four blade propeller:
www.vought.org/products/html/f4u-4.html
I like using exact numbers, but most people will never notice a fraction of an inch difference!
I just finished making a scale diameter propeller for a 1/12 Canadian Air Force Hawker Hurricane Mk. XII. This was the Hurricane model using the Hamilton Standard propeller without a spinner, which I was completely unaware of until I was asked about making one for 3D printing. The modeler requested a 10 x 5 for a 1000kv motor, so I made what he requested and took it upon myself to make a scale diameter 11.62 x 3, both of which I will test fly on my F6F Hellcat as soon as weather permits. The motor is a 1000kv with the 36amp ESC that came with the model, I am curious to see if the model will handle the 30inch pitch propeller better than the 11 x 4-inch pitch used in this video.
The CAF Hurricane propeller blades are the best and smoothest I have designed so far, I am very pleased with the outcome.
Once again, I appreciate your advice on TPU and PETG filaments. After consulting with My Lady over our budget, I have decided to give these a try on my 3D printer. I have plenty of data now on the flight worthiness of PLA, so if I can get some improvement concerning prop strike survival and general handling, these 3D printed propellers could be greatly enhanced.