Print Your Own Variable Pitch Propellor

I am a sophomore in high school, and when I saw this contest I was eager to enter because I enjoy designing model planes with moving propellers and working parts. In this project I made a working model of a variable pitch propellor, just like the ones used in planes. I like to design moving parts and projects you can assemble in Fusion, and this is one of them! In real planes these are used to ensure propellor efficiency at different altitudes and speeds. Sadly, I was unable to print this out as I do not have a 3d printer.

2x 25mmx37mmx7mm Bearings

1x 8mmx12mmx3.5mm Bearing

3D Printer

Superglue or similar glue

If you are creating your own model, keep these in mind: tight fitting parts should be about -.002in or closer, the propellor changes pitch with arms that convert linear motion to rotational motion, and bearings can greatly help lower friction.

When you print these parts, I recommend printing with holes facing towards the plate and pins facing upwards to minimize inaccuracies. Make sure you have support set to "tree" so they are easy to take off. When the parts are all printed some light sanding may need to be done on the seams of pins because they can interfere with the fit of parts.

Assemble the parts with bearings. The front parts are "front frame," "front bearing holder," "front pins 1 and 2," and "outside shaft front." The middle parts are "main shaft front," "middle bearing holder outside," and "middle bearing holder inside." The back parts are "back frame," "back bearing holder," "back pins 1 and 2," and "outside shaft back."

We are now going to assemble the "top and bottom pitch arms" and put the "pitch arm caps" over them. If the caps do not fight tight, they can be glued, just be careful to not get any into the "pitch arm" itself.

In this step you are going to attach the "pitch handle" to the "main shaft back." After that you will slide it through the "back frame" assembly and connect it to the "middle bearing holder inside" part and its assembly.

Connect the "outside shaft bottom" part to the "outside shaft back" part and place the pins of the "main shaft front" into the guide rails. After that, insert the "bottom propellor" and connect the "bottom pitch arm." After all of that slide the "outside shaft top" on and connect the "top propellor" to the pitch arm and shaft.

Start this step by connecting the "bottom plate" to the "back frame" assembly. After this attach the "front frame" assembly to the "bottom plate" and "outside shafts."

Step 1: Place the "big gear" in the middle of its hole in the "back frame."

Step 2: Insert the "big gear cap" through the "big gear" and connect the "big gear shaft" on the other side.

Step 3: Attach the "crank" to the other end of the "big gear shaft."

That is everything! You now have a model of a Variable Pitch Propellor which demonstrates how real ones work!