Each maker ought to have rotary instrument and Dremel is the best-known model of the bunch — a lot in order that it has develop into genericized like Kleenex and Q-tips. Like all all rotary instruments, Dremels depend on excessive velocity (somewhat than torque) to grind, sand, minimize, or polish materials. It isn’t unusual for Dremel fashions to have max speeds over 30,000 RPM. That velocity is fairly just like what we see from pastime drone motors, which bought Peter Sripol questioning if a Dremel might fly. To check the concept, he constructed this Dremel-driven helicopter.
As Sripol factors out in his introduction, it could be dishonest to easily pull the motor out of a Dremel and use that to drive the rotors. That may simply be utilizing an electrical brushed motor with further steps. Sripol needed a problem, which meant making all the Dremel instrument (case, chuck, and every thing else included) fly. Sripol isn’t any stranger to flying machines and has constructed a plethora of them—together with many manned plane that he has piloted himself. However this wasn’t a straightforward enterprise. Utilizing the Dremel to drive the propeller of a airplane wouldn’t have been too laborious, however a helicopter requires a a lot larger energy to weight ratio and that’s difficult with a heavy Dremel instrument.
For apparent causes, Sripol began with a battery-powered Dremel (an 8220 mannequin). That has a max RPM of 30,000, however weighs a hefty 1.36 kilos. Step one was to assemble a light-weight body out of metal rod and wooden. That makes use of the construction of the Dremel itself to supply assist with a view to preserve the load down as a lot as attainable. The aim of the body is solely so as to add touchdown gear and the stabilizing tail part.
A helicopter’s rotors are extra advanced than an everyday ol’ propeller. Usually they permit for changes like blade pitch angle, however Sripol 3D-printed a simplified model that makes use of counterweights to tilt the rotor blades and that gears down the output from the Dremel. He additionally added a small tail rotor motor and a servo motor to actuate the Dremel’s built-in velocity management dial.
It required a number of rounds of testing, crashing, and rebuilding, however finally Sripol was in a position to construct a working helicopter powered by the Dremel. No one would declare that it flies in addition to an plane constructed with purpose-designed elements, however that doesn’t matter. The Dremel flew and that’s cool.
