High-Speed Archimedes Screw

This project makes use of K'nex parts and 3D printed components to make an Archimedes Screw that can achieve high rates of speed thanks to gear ratios, a form of lever. Simply put, a large gear with 200 teeth will turn a smaller gear with 100 teeth twice for every one rotation made by the larger gear. In this way, we can take advantage of the special properties of levers, which allow us to take a set amount of force, and spread it over a larger distance. Gears are especially useful everywhere in engineering as they combine the wheel and axle and lever, resulting in a device seen everywhere rotational movement is needed. The output shaft of the gearbox from this project will be connected via a pulley to the Archimedes Screw, allowing us to pump water, marbles, etc., at four times the speed at which we are turning the input shaft.

I designed all of the 3D models in Autodesk Inventor Professional (shown above), so all these components work together very nicely. It was a total of about 12 hours or so to print, so please allot time accordingly. They were printed in PLA at 60mm/s, with a 0.25mm layer height, at ~20% infill.

For this project, you will need the following materials (Also Pictured):

3D Printed Components (All STL Files are Attached to this Instructable):

1x Archimedes Screw Sleeve

1x Archimedes Screw Sleeve Cap

1x Archimedes Screw (Please note that you may have to sand the edges of this part to ensure a good fit.)

1x 100 Tooth Gear

1x 25 Tooth Gear

K'nex Components

30x Gray Spacers (Additional May be Required Depending on placement of Archimedes screw)

14x Blue Spacers

4x Black End Caps

6x Pink A-Shaped Pins

12x Green/Black Pegs

24x Gray/Purple Half Corners

1x Blue End Cap (Other components will work if unavailable)

5x Red Corners (One more is required than shown)

4x Orange Pass-Through Pieces

1x White Circle Connector

6x Gray A-Shaped Endcaps

2x Gray Wheels

5x Red Bars

8x Yellow Bars

9x Blue Bars

1x White Bar

Miscellaneous

Rubber Bands (As Needed)

1.

Attach the Archimedes Screw Sleeve Cap to the Archimedes Screw Sleeve using super glue. (There are two separate parts to the sleeve to eliminate the need for support structures to be generated.)

2.

Connect the gray/purple corner pieces as shown. There should be 12 3D right-angle connectors in total.

3.

Connect the 3D right angle connectors so that there are two vertically on the outside, with one horizontal in the center, all connected making use of the green/black pegs. (This will be referred to as the 3 3D right-angle connector chains throughout the instructions.) (This configuration is also pictured above.)

4.

Attach two yellow bars to the outside slots of a red corner piece. Set two of the 3 3D right angle connector chains so that they stand vertically. Next, place the right angle connector with yellow bars into the slots on the bottom level. (As pictured above) Finally, connect two blue bars to an orange pass-through piece and connect the right angle connectors on the middle level. (The finished product is shown above.)

1.

Take one of the red bars and place one of the black end caps on the end of it. Next, snap a pink A-shaped pin connector to it, followed by the 100-Tooth Gear. (Be sure that the pin on the pink connector is inserted into the hole on the gear, otherwise the gear will not be driven by the input shaft.) On top of the gear, place a white circular connector as shown.

2.

Thread the red bar through the hole on the orange pass-through connector. Place 3 gray spacers, followed by 2 blue spacers on the bar.

3.

Connect 2 blue bars to the ends of an orange pass-through connector. Thread the red bar through the hole on the orange connector, and connect the exposed ends of the blue bar to the top-level right angle connectors. Next, place 2 gray spacers on the bar, followed by a pink A-shaped pin connector, and then a gray end cap with a blue bar coming out of it. (The pin should be inserted into the gap on the gray end cap.) Follow with 2 gray spacers and a black end cap.

4.

Place 6 yellow bars horizontally away from the red corner piece, as shown.

1.

Make a box, with 4 red corner connectors connected on the vertical sides by black/green pegs, and horizontally by two orange pass-through connectors with blue bars coming out both sides.

2.

With another red bar, place a black end cap, followed by a pink A-shaped pin connector and then the 25-tooth gear with the pin threading the hole on the gear. Follow that with a gray end cap connector, and thread through the hole on the bottom orange pass-through connector.

3.

Thread 3 gray spacers, followed by 2 blue spacers, onto the red bar. Now thread this through the hole on the top orange pass-through connector. Place 3 gray spacers, followed by 1 blue spacer on the red bar. Finish the bar off with a pink A-shaped pin connector, a wheel, with the pin threaded into the hole, and the blue end cap.

(The finished product is shown above.)

4.

On the middle yellow bar on either side, thread 5 gray spacers, and then thread the holes on the four red corner pieces on the four top yellow bars as shown. Now, place a gray spacer and 2 blue spacers onto the middle bar on either side of the gearbox.

5.

Take the remaining 3 3D right angle connector chains, and connect them to the 6 yellow bars as shown.

6.

Place 3 red bars between the right angle connectors you just attached as shown.

7.

Take 2 gray end cap connectors and connect them with a black/green peg. Do this a total of two times, and thread one end onto the top blue bar and the top red bar between the 25-tooth module and the end of the gearbox. Do the same procedure, except on the middle tier. (This configuration is shown above.) This will act as braces should there be much pressure put on the 25-tooth module.

1.

Take a blue bar, and add a pink A-shaped connector, followed by a gray spacer, and then another pink A-shaped connector, and a wheel, ensuring the pin is inserted into the hole on the wheel. Finish this off with a black end cap. (As shown above.)

2.

Insert the exposed end of the blue bar into the top of the Archimedes Screw and place inside the sleeve.

This step is dependent on the application. You can see pictured above the configuration I used to keep the screw in place, and I used it for water movement, however this design may work with other applications. Turning the input handle counter-clockwise will result in upward water movement, at four times the rate at which the input shaft is turned. This is achieved through gears, a combination of a lever and wheel and axle, allowing us to spread out the force applied over a longer distance, and in this case, increasing revolution speed. Next, a pulley with a rubber band to transfer the force turns the Archimedes Screw, at a different orientation than what was input by the output shaft. Finally, a screw turns all that rotational force into linear movement, moving the water upwards. Overall, this project was a blast to design, and hopefully it was for you to build it yourself.