Waterfuge: The Classroom Water-Powered Centrifuge

This is the Waterfuge, a remix of cathalgarvey's "DremelFuge - A One-Piece Centrifuge for Rotary Tools".

Inspiration

My idea behind the Waterfuge came from a few different criteria.

One of these was to make a centrifuge that uses a renewable energy source in some shape or form. Why you may ask? To help the planet, of course! This led me to base the power source of my design off of the basic water wheel. The Waterfuge is powered completely by water running on a small little drum wheel, which then moves all the gears and the actual centrifuge.

Another was to make a centrifuge that is classroom-friendly. By this, I mean that I wanted this centrifuge to be able to be made and used in one classroom that has access to a 3D printer. By using simple materials found in schools like clips, pieces of a plastic straw, and some glue, the Waterfuge can be made and used in any classroom with a 3D printer!

I also loved the idea of a DIY centrifuge as soon as I saw "Dremelfuge" in the Remix Challenge collection. I knew as soon as I saw this design that this was what I had to remix for the challenge. I wanted to take another spin at this whole DIY centrifuge thing, and the Waterfuge was the result!

My Reason For Designing the Waterfuge

By designing the Waterfuge, I hope to bring about the idea of using renewable energy sources in creative ways to make usable machines. I also hope that by being a high school student myself, I encourage other young makers to be creative and to create something that is truly unique!

Usability

Now, I'd also like to mention that actual usability of this machine as a centrifuge.

For the design, I tried to take advantage of how gears and cogs work in order to reach a high speed. On the centrifuge, I used a gear that was exactly half the size and has half the amount of teeth in order for it to spin about double the speed of the drum.

However, this speed isn't enough for spinning down the samples in the tubes. By using this simple mechanic however, I believe that the speed that is needed for an effective centrifuge can be achieved by using a geared system.

Videos

Link to the Waterfuge in Action: https://youtu.be/4FG33qHkRNM

Link to the Assembly of the Waterfuge: https://youtu.be/DTcbeyFjtac

Alterations to the Original "Dremelfuge"

The only changes I made to the physical "Dremelfuge" was that I made a bigger hole in the center of the thing. Also, I added a gear to the bottom of this part. These two things are the only changes that I made to the original "Dremelfuge" file.

=License=

I've released the Waterfuge under the same license as the "Dremelfuge", which was Attribution and ShareAlike. Releasing under this license, I satisfy all criteria that cathalgarvey's "DremelFuge - A One-Piece Centrifuge for Rotary Tools" entailed. Changes made to the original thing are indicated above.