(broken) Dusty the dust separator by reality_boy

Last crawled date: 3 years, 3 months ago

****Note, Thingiverse never properly published this so I resubmited it. You can see the new version at the link below.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4668759
This is my take on a dust separator for a shop vac. I built it around a 5 gallon bucket and lid, although you could use any container you want. I sized the couplers to handle a 2-1/2" hose (2-1/4 id on the hole) using a friction fit. That should maximize the air flow while being compatible with most any shop vac.
To construct you need to cut two holes in the lid of your container. The L shaped inlet needs to be placed close to the edge of the lid, while the straight outlet goes near the center of the lid. Be sure to space everything out so you have some room to turn the nuts. I used a sharpie to trace the parts onto the lid, then drilled a pilot hole and used tin snips to cut the hole out, but you can use a hole saw or any other tool you can find.
Once assembled you want to ensure the L shaped inlet is aimed so incoming air will swirl around the edge of the bucket. You can also add a bit of caulk to seal the nozzles to the lid of your container. I recommend using a lid that has a built in seal as well to minimize air leaks.
The threads may be a bit stiff at first, just slowly work them back and forth till they free up. This depends on how well your 3D printer is setup.
Improvements
Chris Notap has an idea for cutting the lip off a bucket so you can stack two buckets together. That would increase the capacity of the setup for a minimal investment. And it would be easier to clean out than prying off the lid every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WnitgYFnE0
You could also augment this with a Thien baffle to help further separate the dirt from the air. The rumor is that this will allow the bucket to fill up more before dust starts to be sucked out of the bucket and into your shop-vac.
http://www.jpthien.com/cy.htm
Printer settings
Print with PLA at 30% infill 0.4 mm line width, 0.2 mm layer height, 1.2 mm wall thickness and 1.0 mm top/bottom thickness. All parts are oriented for optimal printing already. And all are designed to print without a brim, raft, or support.