Thingiverse
Vortex tube by benkrasnow
by Thingiverse
Last crawled date: 4 years, 3 months ago
This is a working Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex_tube) which prints in one piece and does not need any adjustments. Just print, and apply 80-100 psi air pressure. I'm using the Form 2 SLA printer, which has sufficient resolution to print the passageways inside the tube. I doubt this will work with an FDM printer, but there may be creative ways to make it happen. I've included the Fusion 360 file, stls, and .form files for printing in clear resin.
The main tuning parameter for a vortex tube like this is the gap at the hot end which restricts how much air can come out. There are two .form files, one with a 0.35mm gap, and the other with a 0.4mm gap. I'd recommend the 0.35 since the output air stream will be less voluminous and hotter. If you are having trouble printing, try the 0.4mm.
The holes in this vortex tube are "letter R" drill size which is suitable for tapping with a 1/8 NPT pipe thread.
At 25C ambient, this tube produced 45C hot air and 17*C cold air.
The main tuning parameter for a vortex tube like this is the gap at the hot end which restricts how much air can come out. There are two .form files, one with a 0.35mm gap, and the other with a 0.4mm gap. I'd recommend the 0.35 since the output air stream will be less voluminous and hotter. If you are having trouble printing, try the 0.4mm.
The holes in this vortex tube are "letter R" drill size which is suitable for tapping with a 1/8 NPT pipe thread.
At 25C ambient, this tube produced 45C hot air and 17*C cold air.