Hummngbird Whirligig

Hummingbird Whirligig

Edit: 5 July 2020

I have added a "spinner" to the front of the prop hub. It is threaded at 1/4-20 so it will just screw onto the threaded rod main shaft and cover the nut securing the hub. Thanks to SuperTroy for the idea!

This is the smallest whirligig yet for me.

You will need the following items in addition to the 3-D printed parts:

(1) - 1/4 inch (or 6mm) all thread rod about 8 inches (200mm) long (6) - 1/4-20 (or m6) nuts (1) - 5/16 (or 8mm) all thread rod long enough to make a mounting base for the whirligig (2) - 5/16 (or m8) nyloc nuts (2) - r4zz skateboard bearings (2) - 608zz skateboard bearings (8) - 8-32 (or m4) X 1 inch (25mm round head screws (8) - 8-32 (or m4) nuts (1) - 6-32 (or m3) X 1 inch (25mm) round head screws (1) - 6-32 (or m3) nuts (2) - cotter pins approximately 1/16 inch (1.5mm) X 3/4 inch (19mm) (2) - cotter pins approximately 1/16 inch (1.5mm) X 1 inch (25mm) You will also need about a foot (300mm) of small stiff wire to make the wings flap. I used some steel wire that I have that is about .3 inches (.8mm) diameter which works out to about 20 gauge wire. You could also probably use copper wire for this. And you will also need some glue. I used fix-all adhesive that I got from the Dollar Tree store, but super glue would also work just fine.

Assembly should be self explanatory, but I have included a file called Hummingbird Assembly Diagram if you need it. There are two very small washers (spacers?) that go between the nuts and the R4zz bearings to help them rotate more freely when the nuts are tightened.

The wings, body, lever, prop bodies, prop shafts, and wobble cam have been split in half so they will print without support. The wings and body have some relief features to make them easier to paint. All these parts will glue together after printing them.

The only parts that will need supports are the front and rear bases and the swivel. They each have recesses for bearings that won't print correctly without supports.

The file names indicate how many of each part need to be printed eg: Hummingbird - Lever Half2.stl means to print two of them.

Here is a video of it in action