Drill-Powered MiniVac

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Drill-Powered MiniVac

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Description

Despite all of the ingenious dust catchers posted here, pretty much any drilling job is bound to leave a pile of crumbs. And no one want to haul out their big vacuum cleaner. (I'm assuming the battery on your dust buster is dead, just like mine.) Here's a tiny vacuum cleaner that can handle the small mess, powered by the drill that you have just used.

It has a 1:4 planetary gearhead that spins the turbine up to 6000+ rpm (most cordless drills run at 1500-2000 rpm), producing a modest but serviceable amount of vacuum. The front nozzle plate slides off the front for easy cleaning of the small debris chamber. Keep this handy in your toolbox for your next drilling job.

Things you'll need in addition to the printed parts:

- 2x 608 skate bearing (8mm bore x 22mm OD x 7mm thick)
- Filter material (a few layers of cheesecloth or a piece of heat register filter)
- Superglue
- A bit of light grease

CAUTION: Do not operate with a drill speed of more than 2000RPM. Do not allow the body to spin freely.

UPDATE: One weak point in the design is the Drill Shank which can snap off if the vacuum is whacked while in your drill chuck. I've added a hole down the center of the shank for an optional 25mm long, M3 screw. Screw this in from the open end of the shank. This will significantly strengthen the shank.

Printing
Print all parts in PLA with 0.2mm layers. No supports are needed. The Shaft piece should be printed with a brim for stability. Print one each of each part, except print 3 of the Planet gears.

Printing the Body piece: The Body STL file actually contains 2 separate parts: the main part and a vent section. After loading the Body into your slicer, separate it into 2 parts. Use your normal slicer settings for the main part, but for the vent, set the Top Layers to 0, the Bottom Layers to 0, the number of perimeter lines to 0, and use a 25% grid infill. This will cause the vent portion to print as just an infill pattern.

Printing the DrillShank: The DrillShank needs really good strength and layer adhesion to keep it from snapping. Use 4 or 5 perimeter lines, and print at half speed to make sure it is completely fused.

Assembly

Start by inserting the DrillShank into the Spider. Secure with a couple drops of superglue.

 

 

 

 

Press one 608 bearing into the Body and the other into the Ring part so that the bearings sit flush with the top and bottom surfaces. It should be a light press fit. If it is a little too loose, use a small drop of superglue on the bore before inserting the bearing.

 

 

 

Press the Shaft into the center of the Turbine so that it sits flush with the top of the boss on the inside. If it is not a tight fit, again, use a little superglue.

Insert the Turbine into the Body and then press the Sun gear onto the end of the shaft on the other side.

Insert the DrillShank/Spider into the bearing in the Ring. Put a little dab of grease on each on the 3 posts and then Slip the Planet gears onto each post. Add a blob of grease to each of the gears. Clean off any grease from the top surface of the ring gear where it mates with the Body.

 

 

 

Insert the planetary gear assembly over the Sun gear and secure to the Body with a couple drops of superglue. Be careful not to get any glue on the planet gears.

 

 

 

 

Use the Template to cut out a piece of your filter material. (Any highly breathable fabric or non-woven filter material.) insert the filter over the vent portion of the Body.

 

 

 

Finally, slide the Nozzle/Cover onto the Body. It should click into place.

 

 

 

 

UPDATE: I've added a hole down the center of the shank for an optional 25mm long, M3 screw. Screw this in from the free end of the shank to significantly strengthen the shaft.

Operation
Insert the Shank into your drill chuck and tighten just finger tight. Hold onto the body of the vacuum with one hand to keep it from spinning. No not allow the body to spin freely or it will break. Run at the highest speed for full vacuum. After your cleanup job, remove from you drill and slide the cover off to empty. Every now and again, you might want to remove your filter material and wash and dry it before your next use.

Comment & Rating (2)

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Motor keeps on getting lose and it keeps on making a weird grinding noise. Maybe I have to put some grease in it.
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the suction is not strong, I think need to seal it a bit.
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