Airplane Prop Car Accessory

Hi All,

A friend of mine, who is a pilot, was getting married, so me and my brother-in-laws thought up this project as a way to spruce up the newlyweds' drive-away car.

This airplane prop is a fully 3D printed assembly, except for two screws and 10 air-soft bb's for the ball bearing. Once assembled and mounted, the propeller spins via wind power as you drive. I've taken it up to 55 mph, and it works swell.

Before we get started, I would like to give a shout out to Brian Bartlow, a.k.a. TheRooster, on Thingiverse. I integrated his 608 ball bearing into the axle and front-plate of my Airplane Prop to help smooth the motion a bit. So many thanks to him and his excellent work.

Tools Needed:

- 3D Printer with minimum build volume of 7.5 in x 7.5 in x 4.5 in (190mm x190mm x115mm)

Materials Needed:

- Plastic Printer Filament (I used PLA)

- 8x 6mm BB's

- 2x Small Wood Screws

Download the STL's below and configure your gcode with your favorite CAM software. I used the following specs when printing these parts:

Layer Height: 0.15mm

Shells: 3

Infill: 35%

The only parts that should need additional support material are the Prop, Prop Blade, and the Prop Axle.

You will need to print the following number of parts:

1x Prop

2x Prop Blade

4x Blade Pin

1x Prop Tip

1x Prop Axle

1x Prop Frontplate

1x Prop Backplate

2x Plate PIn

2x Angle Bracket

2x Washer

Follow the Instructional Video above.

All the pin connections are press-fit. You could add some C-clips to further secure the Plate Pins if you wanted; however, the pins fit tightly enough that C-clip really aren't necessary.

After fitting the Angle Brackets onto the spokes on the sides of the Frontplate, use a lighter to slightly melt the ends of the spokes. When the plastic becomes malleable, gently use a hammer to flatten the end of the spokes to prevent the Angle Brackets from coming off.

You will notice there are 6 screw guide-holes on each side of the Backplate. These allow you to change the degree to which the Prop is angled from the Backplate.

Alright, almost done! You are now ready to attach your fully assembled Airplane Prop Car Accessory to your car.

I used several Zip-ties looped through the holes on the Backplate, through my car's grill and under the hood to secure the Prop Assembly to my Toyota. Two loops of Zip-ties was enough to effectively constrain the Prop.

After ensuring the assembly is firmly fixed to your car, take a drive!

Thanks for reading this post, and enjoy your flight!

jlaake