Air Umbrella 2.0 DIY! a Second Wind!
Introduction: Air Umbrella 2.0 DIY! a Second Wind!
Have you ever had your parade rained on? I am not talking metaphorically even though I do enjoy metaphors. This is a literal question and to make it more relevant lets remove the parade requirement and ask if you have ever been rained on? When these sky tears beset you maybe you had a rain jacket or an umbrella, but what if there was an option that took the same amount of space as a traditional umbrella but was more expensive, needed batteries, made noise, prone to breaking, and it gets people around you wet and likely will still let you get wet? I can practically hear the chorus, "Shut up and take my money!"
This instructable is not here to solve a problem of building a better umbrella because lets be honest a regular umbrella is quiet, keeps you dry, does not get others wet, takes no batteries, and costs only a few dollars. My first project on Youtube was to make a cardboard impeller to try and build a successful air umbrella motivated by a failed kickstarter and a similar project by The Action Lab. This Kickstarter was light on details and then even lighter (they were non-existent) on the final product and while Action Lab tried to give it a fighting chance by using a leaf blower the extra piping and air constriction really suffocated his design.
If you just watched the cardboard air umbrella video you will know that those dreams wilted just like the wet cardboard of the umbrella. However as the simulated rain hid my tears I vowed that I would try again with a better design. Well today is the day we see if those clouds have a silver lining by proving that an air umbrella is possible even if it is not practical. That said many new innovations when they were first demonstrated were far from practical but I digress.
Alright here is what ya need!
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Supplies
Materials
* Brushless DC Motor & Electronic Speed Controller
* 3S LiPo Battery
* Battery to ESC Adapter (XT60 to Deans)
* 3D Printing Filament
* 3/4" Black Iron Pipe 12" Section
* 3/4" Floor Flange
* #10 Machine Screws & Nuts
* Wire
* MCU
* Heat Shrink Tube
* Super Glue
* Duct Tape
Tools
* 3D Printer
* Soldering Iron
* Phillips Screw Driver
* Pliers
* Small File
* Safety Glasses
* Ear Protection
Monsoon Umbrella
* 70mm RC Jet Engine
* 6S LiPo Battery
* Battery to ESC Adapter (EC5 to XT60)
* 3/4" Black Iron Pipe 12" Section
* 3/4" Floor Flange
Step 1: How It Works?
The way a regular umbrella works is simple, place a piece of waterproof material over your body and head and let the rain hit that material instead of you. Once the rain hits that material is runs down it until it falls off the edge of the material and falls to the ground missing you.
An Air Umbrella uses a similar concept but instead of the rain hitting a piece of material it hits a jet of fast moving air. 51
This jet of air is moving sideways out from the umbrella. When the rain hits this jet of air it gets caught and if there is enough air moving fast enough it will carry the rain drop sideways as it continues to fall. This sideways movement of the raindrop is exactly what happens with a regular umbrella but in the case of the air umbrella it is accomplished using air to push the rain drops away from you while a regular umbrella uses fabric.
Sometimes a video is the best way to capture a concept so I would encourage you to watch the video that I made for this project to understand how it works and to see the project in action.
Step 2: Finding a Motor (Going Brushless)
My first attempt at an air umbrella used brushed DC motors which have been around for a very long time. They are very robust but they are not the champion of torque or speed that I needed. This is where a different type of motor that we are seeing more and more frequently gets its day in the sun... I mean rain.
A brushless DC motor is an interesting tool but what is it? What is the difference between a brushless and a brushed DC motor well the simple answer is the brushes, but you deserve a better explanation than that. The way a brushed DC motor works is that it has a stationary ring of magnets on the outside body along the length of the motor. These magnets sit in one place creating a fixed magnetic field. 234