3D Printed Drone Propellers - Will It Work?

[@iwantmypot]

10:55 It's possible the blades just gave out from the stresses of flying. I watched the footage at 0.25 speed, and couldn't see anything that would have caused the crash.

[@MichaelNelsonYT]

The nose went down and to the right first, which was the only prop that wasnt the same color. I think it was the PETG prop and because it didnt look like it hit anything I think it broke apart in midair and caused the rest of the drone to fall. Most likely it was only one of the blades that failed, but after that it puts too much stress on the other 2 blades and thus had no more thrust causing it to fall from the sky. But yes I agree. Dont use PETG for 3d printed drone props i guess lol

[@iwantmypot]

@@MichaelNelsonYT if possible I'd say to use an SLA printer if planning to make any kind of props. Not only should it result in a stronger bond, but the surface details are much better than filament printers.

[@gitech7450]

I think they're breaking because you designed them like swinging clubs around. Props should be thicker/wider and steeper pitch at the root, and thinner/narrower and a shallower pitch toward the tip. *Looking forward to your next attempt! Thanks for the awesome vids man!* :)

[@pauljs75]

More to do with the efficiency than the breaking, but yeah. Those things apply because the airspeed is effectively a lot faster at the tip. You want to blend a foil shape that can deal with the airspeed gradient to provide about the same lift (or thrust) along its length. Making the blades a little bit thicker overall should help with the vibration (stiffer), but there may still be a material limitation for 3D printable in terms of breaking.

[@bacon.cheesecake]

They're breaking because they're made out of the completely wrong plastic for this application

[@Kmarad_]

"I think I have to blame something..." I definitely saw the tree jump in front of the drone !

[@Spikejwh1]

Yes, I saw it also... that tree just jumped in front of that drone.... out of nowhere! Those Swedish Jumping trees are a real nuisance! Luckily they hibernate in the summer.

[@unfall5521]

Man, i have just found your channel, and im lovin it! Just keep it up it's very good quality video here, and i like your humor :))))

[@MakersMuse]

Hah neat, I totally thought the centrifugal force would have torn them apart. With a bit of refining you could probably gain a little more power out of them, and maybe polycarbonate would hold up to more abuse? Congrats on the silver play button!

[@MakersMuse]

It's something I super want to get into if I had the time and more space! The PC filaments are boss at standing up to abuse, I use them in my robots so reckon they'd make awesome props.

[@ZebraandDonkey]

Saw another guy print props and a balancer and they held up. Though crashes don't seem to be very good for these props.

[@AnthonyTackett]

Very cool. I wonder if you could gab some extra lift by increasing the width/surface area of the props.

[@AnthonyTackett]

Ah ok. I don't have any experience with drones but they sure as heck fascinate me.

[@sky0kast0]

Maker's Muse sometimes you'd need to make more Thick fans for stability and function

[@makerlab4334]

Congrats for silver play button

[@edwinrodriguez1323]

I love your videos, dude, please keep it up! Came across your channel when I first got into 3D printing. You helped me decide on buying a CR-10, which I could not be happier with. Now I’m getting into the FPV world and here you are again with your awesome adventures. Thanks bro!

[@JasonDunn01]

Awesome video, thanks for taking the time to do that. Most of the places I landed when searching were just people saying, "Can't be done," with no evidence or actual attempts even made. This proves it CAN be done, just needs refining. Thanks again.

[@surgemeister01]

Dude, love your videos, very entertaining, and easy to watch. I like that you are not trying to be all loud, and "in your face". Keep up the good work.

[@derektoy4444]

Thanks so much for making this video man! I tried 3D printing those props out of PLA and got them to work pretty good for me. I sanded the faces fairly well and the vibrations were pretty much gone. I am going to try designing my own props to make them more sturdy at the center like cyclones.

[@evahxh]

You deserve more subs. 155k isnt enough for a channel as great as yours.

[@marktwin5rd]

I agree with you.

[@whity4584]

You are awesome at flying drones. Your a lucky person and very intelligent with a good sense of humour. Keep the videos coming Simon

[@aaronj7150]

Good to see you that 3D printed propellers actually work. Enjoyed the video

[@RcLifeOn]

We are growing faster than ever which is awesome, thank you so much! Please hit that like button if you think 3D printed RC stuff is fun to watch and I'll make more.

[@matthewallen5742]

RCLifeOn F R E S H

[@nighthawkfpv9682]

Hey. Just wondering if you've tried balancing the props yet? BTW I've wanted to try this for a long time. So awesome.

[@Omakes]

can you build a drone of beginning to end (start to finish) i would appreciated?

[@karl3367]

How about 3D printed Motors next time?I mean the housing and then putting the magnets and copper wire in it...

[@brrdrr]

There is a full guide on his chanel in previous videos.

[@hugohuge7029]

It is so weird!! I’ve been here since 20k subscribers and to see you grow this much is just AMAZING!! Congratulations my friend :D

[@yippiekayeah]

"And now, let us see, will it crash?" Flies straight into a tree.

[@TMWPolishTwin]

It usually bothers me when KZbinrs ask for likes, but your content is so enjoyable that I can't resist not to click that like button ;)

[@serosvald2788]

Bro, I'm totally new here, but I have one thing to say: You are awesome. No, realy. I just want to start make something like this. You just inspire me AF, so thank you! I don't realy understand how working electronic parts of yours "toys", you know, I'm not engenier and didn't working with this kind of stuff, but its absolutly great! (Sorry for my bad english)

[@justin_time]

The vibration problem can be solved by balancing the propellers on the tip of a pencil, looking at which side it leans to, and then sanding off lit bits of plastic until the propeller balances perfectly on the tip of the pencil (needle, sharp object, etc). Reducing vibrations will also make the propeller's lifespan increase greatly. Great video - thanks for posting!

[@szametha]

Interesting to see it actually works. Will try it soon. My guess is a sturdier design, proper balancing and a smooth finish will improve performance immediately.

[@MrPeterDawes]

As a proof of concept I think it was a winner. Just got to improve the design so it doesn't lose so much energy and if you can use a stronger material. I don't know how cold it was but that would make PLA less flexible and more likely to shatter. ABS would behave similar I would think in the cold. Just ordered my own 3D printer with the hope of building a drone so thank you for proving it can be done.

[@___echo___]

Finally someone makes some :D I have been wondering forever

[@meegz6189]

I'd love to see more experimentation with 3D printed props.

[@danmcguire3408]

The thickness of the blades nearer to the base on the purchased blade looks significantly different than the design you’ve printed. It would be interesting to see an A-B comparison with an identical design. I would also be interested to see if different infill patterns and a printed material like polycarbonate or abs would affect the structural integrity at sustained high speed spinning forces like this. Good video, keep it up!

[@AusJo]

Real quick the blades are way to thin for the motors and the blades are only on by what looks like 4mm of connecting plastic to the centre which is not enough And by the way the reason you fell from the sky that one time because a propeller broke from the centrifugal force it ripped it apart If anything make the blade thicker lower pitch and thicker at the centre and don’t screw the bolt on to tight because that cracks the prop Anyway keep doing what you love.

[@Bu5H84]

awesome vid, and congrats on the Sliver button , always enjoy watching your vids nicely edited and informative

[@dkhallal]

Brilliant! Love your stuff, and congrats on the new bling!

[@nikonissinen6772]

Congrats for the silver play button!

[@torstein5739]

Great video, Simon! I agree that some of the power loss is due to vibrations, but if you're going to compare the 3D-printed propellers to the non-printed ones in terms of power, you should at least make them the same shape! Also, I can't tell if you already did this, but i think the pitch of the blades should decrease from the center of the prop towards the edges to account for the increased lift the faster moving tips make compared to the parts near the center. This might be more relevant in larger props though. But hey, still great content :) P.S. Greetings from Norway :)

[@greggeshelman]

Tapering towards the tip keeps lift along the blades the same without having to build twist into them. It also improves throttle response by decreasing rotational inertia. Centrifugal force is also decreased, which would be a good thing for 3D printed props to prevent coming apart between layers.

[@Shadowhurtz]

Loss of power can be counteracted by having more surface area. They seemed to me as if they had a LOT less surface area than the black props anyway.

[@jm.7701]

Very good video as always. Loving you, KEEP GOING ON !!

[@ishanmadhav2471]

Congratulations on the silver play button

[@joshhagen4182]

Another masterpiece! Good job Simon

[@h6ma540]

Congratulations, in a year since you uploaded this video you’ve gained another 209000 subs. Keep going

[@ssbmfan4]

You definitely need to try nylon for that. It has the highest mechanical strength of any reasonably printable plastic. You probably also need to make them a bit thicker to prevent slop while spinning. Good luck, I'd love to see this revisited.

[@mannos86]

Have you tried adding a 30 minute z-poxy pt-39 layer to the propellers ? I think they have "drag". Since the surface is not smooth enough it fights the air. Try either sanding or the e-poxy layer in a future video! You're doing a great job and i will definantly "steal" your work :) and make my own videos with my "vision" on these projects. Who's the man? YOU'RE THE MAN! KEEP IT UP!

[@phaniavireddy]

You deserve a lot more subscribers dude. Love your work.

[@ChunkySteveo]

Great video Simon, your editing style has come on so much! I remember only a while ago you were asking me advice about 3D printers - how far you've come!! Top stuff! And congrats on the silver play!!

[@bigpapi5545]

11:48 Sustain flight they can, Simon I am! Great vid

[@the_golden_ingot]

Congratulations for the silver play butten! I love all of your videos an like all of them to and you are so creative love it🤓😀 😃 😄 😁

[@riley3161]

That was awesome! You also answered my questions about 3D printing. And big time respect for owning that wreck. You could have deleted the footage, but you didn't, that's cool.

[@ItsAjlkproduction]

I love your videos, keep the awesome content coming my man, you doing work

[@Charlie90071]

maybe give ABS a try :)

[@among-us-99999]

I feel like ABS is heavily hated on by the community, because of the fumes. But it is so awesome, cheap, and the one of the few plastics that you can smooth while not having to buy expensive special filament made from a secret kind of plastic Oh, and if you don’t fear ABS, you should try HIPS (high impact polystyrene) It is very similar, prints a little bit easier and is sometimes cheaper. It is so much more than a dissolvable filament, and it is actually a common engineering material. but like ABS, it releases styrene fumes..but less other chemicals

[@MsrDITZLER]

Спасибо тебе за твоё время, которое ты даришь нам, чтобы мы узнали что-нибудь полезное! ) Очень качественный контент!

[@tufedw19]

You are fun to watch, your videos are awesome. Ever think about putting some ABBA music in the background, lol. I think what happened in your second crash was a propeller issue, and didn't hit a thing. Take a look at 10:56 you can see where the drone flips.

[@RayIrv]

instant liked and subscribed ... keep it up man was fun to watch!

[@urbantuckerman]

great video, congratulations on the play button. I am planning on buying an anet a8 on (cyber) monday. The first thing i will be printing (after a few printer upgrades) will be a drone. I would love to see a test based on a close copy (maybe best to call it an "homage" rather than a copy) of a commercially available prop.

[@ThePurplePupUwU]

Who else wants flite test to hire this man

[@MrL3mming]

Nice video, i did´t expect that outcome. I have a CR-10 too, but all the rectraction blobs make it impossible for me to even think of making propellers. But i do have some tips for you, if you want to give the blades a second try: Try a steeper pitch at the root of the propellers and a smaller pitch at the tip. And do a curved design of the blades. Otherwise you don´t use the full potential of your props. This is because you force the air flow to change direction immediately and therefore get flow separation on top of the blades, trailing their leading edge (if using a constant pitch that is too steep). If you use a shallow, constant pitch, you don´t use the full potential of air flow deflection and therefore also loose power. As someone in the comments already stated, the pitch should be steep at the root and shallower at the tip because the speed of a outward moving reference point on the blade increases with increasing diameter. And the pitch should be shallower at the top of the blade than on the bottom (you don´t want sudden flow direction changes, but you do want a maximum possible deflection). Just a few inspirations. Would be nice to see a second version of your props!

[@TinkerTotems]

I'm absolutely loving the 3d printed quadcopter stuff. I've always wanted to get into it never knew how to start. Get yourself some more backup batteries and I'd love to see how far you could take this. I'm pretty sure those props weren't the best design for the job. Maybe try printing them in ABS and then vapor smooth them to get rid of some of the roughness from layer lines.

[@fbiagent3399]

man you have an awesome KZbin channel I enjoy watching yo videos they are very friendly and understandable... keep it up man

[@rockthebase]

Great job you have convinced me to get a 3D printer, amazing RD. This is a new hobby i hate ordering parts, no guarantee they will work or not break, printing my own would be a major achievement. Thanks again keep up the great work! ' I like the utlitiy out door camo pants what are they?

[@jakeE46.325i]

The trousers are made by Revolution Race. I was looking and searching for a very long time and eventually found them and ordered a pair straight away.

[@benchern3048]

Print with polycarbonate, its much more durable

[@rattlerrobotics8932]

You need a enclosure.

[@tachyonzero]

and you need a temperature sensor that withstand near 400C

[@Bacardiman04]

Congrats o the Play button! Would like to see a bench test of vibrations with the diff. Filaments..lol even maybe some wood or carbon filament. Or show how the vibrations change before and after balancing..just some thoughts. Like the vids and editing tho!

[@AndrewSouthworth]

I wonder if just thickening the stress concentration points and maybe trying ABS, PC, PC-ABS or other materials would improve this drastically.

[@ricktucker7560]

Dude, your awesome. Thank you for the vid. You try to make a small drone frame that is flexible enough not to break during crashes yet stiff enough to handle the thrust of the motors. That is how the best propellers are today and I think frames will be like that in the future.

[@Plur307]

You want the frame as rigid as possible. Floppy frames create feedback and oscillations. Carbon frames are nearly indestructible. You need to crash really hard to break them.

[@anjanamanoj4901]

Congrats for the play button 😘😄u deserve it 👏🎉👌✌🎊🎈

[@nerys71]

Now go buy a prop balancer and balance those props :-)

[@ethanutter7971]

Nerys no i think its fine

[@nerys71]

Utters Adventures productions balancing the props will get rid of the vibrations in jello in the video

[@charliemomo2605]

True

[@nerys71]

David no i dont. A lot of ap via remote view but not true fpv. I did get my first set of goggles but no vessel to link them with.

[@nerys71]

David I've been flying cameras on airplanes since before digital :-) the early digital cameras had an incredible amount of Jell-O because of the slow scan rate of the sensor I've got some videos where light poles look like snakes wriggling all over the place :-) wish I still had those videos I might find them one day this is all before KZbin AP is aerial photography the reason I got a drone to strap a camera to it and capture pictures and video I used to do that with my RC airplanes I would strap cameras at different angles and fly the airplane around guessing it what it was seeing the first fpv was on an airplane not a quadcopter then multirotors came out quadcopters are drones we call him now which is amazing because now I can send up a drone pocket in a spot in the sky and the camera exactly where I want it with the view from the transmission from that drone and click the shutter stuff is amazing :-) but I would love to get into the thrill of fpv flying a race drone :-) Back then I just called it on board video :-) because we couldn't transmit it down to the ground at least most of us couldn't not easily

[@wordreet]

Cool bananas! When I fly RC I fly gliders almost exclusively, power assisted. Though I do have a couple of slow fliers, all home built, but no copters of any sort. But when I do eventually print a prop, it will be ABS at least and maybe acetone smooth it, or perhaps PET recycled filament might be appropriate, it seems pretty tough. Your original props there were obviously very much stronger and better profiled and possibly thicker that the ones you printed. The profile (airfoil) of a prop is critical to it's performance of course.

[@LTT.Official]

Congrats on the play button Simon, great to see how far you've come, I've been around since about 5k.

[@travisjohnson8540]

you should try revisiting this with different propeller shapes, angles of attack etc... maybe even just stupid shapes or different types of propellers, turbo fan or boat prop style. That would be cool. Love your videos

[@steveray4517]

Great Video! I've just subscribed, looking forward to watching your other drone videos

[@apistosig4173]

Hi Simon - may I suggest fatigue testing your printed propellers on the end of an electric drill!! Very interesting presentation.

[@thedevo01]

Awesome channel you got here, Simon!

[@exotictorquerc8797]

Really cool idea, ands as always great video! Im thinking about building the peon 230, but im new to the hobby. Can you please do a complete tutorial/guide of the buid with the wiring and programming especially? It would be really helpful if you could, thanks. Congrats on the silver play and keep up the amazing work!

[@ryanmilewski9641]

It would be helpful if you created the same shape as the non - 3D printed propellers. It would make your test more comparable to what flying your drone is like with the non - 3D printed propellers. Also if you incorporated 3D laser scanning on a rotary table it would be super cool to show your process of doing that. I know you have done it before, but might be helpful for recreating the originals. Awesome job on this episode, I love your videos and keep up the good work.

[@gonun69]

When you look at the design of other three bladed props like the blades are often wider in the middle and thin out to the ends. that will make them stronger in the middle. The outer parts of the prop also travel way faster than the inner parts so you don't need as much incline at the tip ofthe blades as in the middle.

[@justhenry9061]

few things. 1) Tune ur quad, lots of unneeded PID vibrations/shaking (if you're flying in acro) 2) Add more expo to your rates, might remove some shaky movements

[@ARepublicIfYouCanKeepIt]

Simon, you're advancing the discipline through trial and error. It's all good! You're also learning quite a lot to be sure. My very non-expert observation is that the props you printed vary tremendously in form from the stock props. Just a thought, but I wonder what props modeled after the stock props, and printed out of, oh, I don't know, nylon, would do. Keep up the great work you're doing!

[@abizkit94]

The temperature changes the properties of the plastic used. In summer they maybe would hold up longer. PLA is already known to be brittle, low temperatures certainly increase that. Maybe try some other 3D printing materials known to be a bit more flexible, try printing at different temperatures to get better layer bonding, and modify the physical structure of those props, to prevent weakpoints. Your current props seem to break almost always near the center. Different infill patterns for the layers may also alter the properties of the props. Sanding the props to smooth the surface could help with the vibrations. And, as stated in other comments, try balancing the props. You probably could print a balancing station ;) Otherwise I really like the way your channel progresses :D Keep it up~

[@fabiocallea7936]

Great place, great skills, great video making!!! I like so much your video, I envy your ability!

[@darshanpopo4402]

Great work... probable suggestion: if u printed the propellers with a ring around the tips of the blades(the circumference) won't it increase strength and decrease blade flex.

[@rholt2]

i'm interested in trying these out - it'd be great if the Fusion file(s) were available for tweaking purposes. different filaments will be tried, though. great demo. i've been looking around and although i've found about 10 or 12 of 3D printed props, a lot of them are for the micro quads and some are like 8" (go fig). great vid as always - keep up the great work Russ from Coral Springs, Florida, USA

[@adijasarevic6223]

Nice video man, keep up a good work! ❤

[@TristinGilbert_RaceBotFPV]

Making 3d printed propellers that are durable is something that I would be interested to see, as being a drone racing pilot myself I have found DalProp to make some of the best props out there (much better than those black Ideal props that you were cruising around with). The Emax 2205 2300kv red bottoms are a great motor to learn to fly on, they don't have the torque/top end like 2206, 2207, or even 2306 motors have so 3d printed props on those motors would most likely shatter when you arm your quad. What mode are you flying in? Horizon/Level mode is good for learning the basics but acro is where its all at, you can do so much more with it. Love to see you build some more racing drones that you would maybe use for racing (I would be more than happy to help).

[@barrywilliams2008]

Could add Propeller bump guards to the main frame that would save the made propellers :) awesome job i love the way 3d printing is evolving and the ideas that are coming out with it i seen i guy on youtube with one printing nosel printing a pic with about 10 colours something to look at if you want to add graphics to your boats and things :)

[@albert9271]

Who the hell would dis these epic videos

[@yord1912]

ever thought about printer wheels for your longboard with the flexible filament. i think that would work great for offroad

[@jayywess9836]

Song at 2:38?

[@leostartstofilm1030]

omg the jello with the 3d printed propellers!

[@xmarishka2011x]

Молодец парнишка. И всё же - это дорогое удовольствие, один двигатель чего стоит.

[@CrazxyD3xter]

10:55 what did he hit I have seen that part 20times there was nothing.......

[@tamarathompson9418]

crazy indian hacker his props broke from the force of them spinning so hard . The material isnt useable as a prop

[@StaggeredLife]

This is great testing. Keep at it. Great job.

[@unclebens5286]

U should print them in polymaker polycarbonate. With that material, I am pretty sure, they won't break that fast. Also u could try out afterprocessing them to make the surface smoother and reduce bad turbulence.

[@gamernick1533]

I'd love to see a video showing suggested starter parts to buy to build your own drone using something like Amazon as a baseline :)

[@TTKMKaizen]

I love printing in NNnnnn. It's a really nice material to work with.

[@LugW0rm]

I wonder how the nylon filament will hold up. Maybe you could also try modeling and printing the good propellors you already have?

[@karmasgotcha2356]

You should try using carbon fiber filament. See if that helps with the strength. Also I would suggest you make the blades a bit wider and a little thicker.

[@shplayshiggty7537]

I feel like six blade props would do good with three long and three short in-between just a thought. I just joined this channel and so far great job.

[@formulafoxMusic]

if you apply a glass mirror over your print bed, the filament will stick on there very well and strong. i had the same issue before

[@MaxImagination]

Really cool video bro! Try making a 3d printed drone chassis xD

[@Reman1975]

Watching this I'm guessing you've made the props with the same pitch from the tip all the way to the hub. Because the tips are moving faster through the air than the root of the blade you need to skew the blades so they have a greater pitch at the root so as much of the blade as possible is trying to pull the same "Length" of air with each revolution. You also want to add a proper aerofoil shape to the blades to get every last bit of thrust possible per revolution. Your loss of power is probabbly down to your blades only making decent thrust using the outer 1" to 1.5". The inner inch or so isn't angled enough to be adding much to the overall power. Also, You made the root of the blades quite narrow and the blades have most of the material (And therefore weight) quite far out from the hub. This would give the blades quite a low resonating frequency. It's possible that when you couldn't work out what you hit, You hadn't hit anything. You just had your motors spinning at a RPM that caused vibrations at your props resonant frequency, And they shook themselves apart. If I were 3D printing props I'd address the single blade pitch problem and taper the blade in a similar way to those "Fish Bone" type blades you started the flight with. That design had more of the weight closer to the hub so centrifugal force doesn't give the blade root such a hefty tug when spinning fast. Also, I'd add transitional filleting to the root to help prevent stress raising sharp corners. That all said, I'd have put money on 3d printed blades disintegrating way before they got up to enough RPM to get the average quad off the ground, So you've already got way beyond my expectations. :) I'll be interested to see what your MK2 blades will look like, So you've got a "Subscribe" out of me :).

[@SamMennega]

Nice video! I wonder if you designed the props to be thicker in the middle of the fins, sort of like the original, if you'd get better airflow

[@jakegarrett8109]

Your on the right track. These aren't even airfoil shaped. It can still be symmetric, but it does need to be an airfoil, otherwise they will be noisy and huge loss of power like he saw. Airfoils are very easy to design in CAD. Should only take him 30 minutes to make a new one. But I think they might snap just as easy since at the edges they will be thinner, making it easy to start a crack and get damaged.

[@tracythornton8451]

Tom and jerry

[@freestatefilms6174]

Con you please do a full speed acceleration with the 3d printer props.

[@cGcFilmProduction]

So... your videos and dedication are supreme!!! But I will totally ask you, in the most kind of way... Please keep some time for yourself and the ones you love.

[@yuceacik]

Can you please prepare a small tutorial about making a basic design on computer and tell us which softwares you use. Big fan of you. Keep up the good work.

[@harynian]

This channel is something like: "how to make fail tests", but it is kinda funny.

[@lorenzoburgi8457]

What did you study?

[@hansdietrich83]

Lorenzo Burgi I see this question so often. These kinds of hobbies and skills often have nothing to do with studying at a university. Persobally I'm a maker since elementary school and now study informatics based on my making hobby.

[@xXKisskerXx]

how smooth did you get the blades? perhaps some resistance can be eliminated if you made the propellers a bit thicker, then sanded and finally vapor smoothed them? a wider blade design like the original blacks may also help. But amazing none the less! makes me want to make one and fly!

[@twisted_seraph]

Will you do a drone video when there is snow on the ground? What about sanding them and using plastic primary filler, so you get a smooth surface.

[@drewanderson8279]

So I have an idea. Have you heard of Rino lining or truck bed lining. It's a soft flexable rubber spray on coat. I wonder if you can cover the props and maybe sand and shape the face of the blade if needed. The coat makes things dam near bullet proof. How ridiculous covered a watermelon and dropped it from the 45 meter tower and it bounced. Absolutely amazing. See if you can incorporate this in a propeller?!!