Flowmeters are the devices that are used to measure the flow of liquid & gases that pass through them.
Flowmeter that measure the flow by calculating the amount of liquid flown in unit time are called velocity flowmeter. This type of flowmeter typically provides with velocity of flow (ex: 10 litres per minute).
Volumetric flowmeter on the other hand measure the total amount that has been discharged. For example this flowmeters may be utilized to know the amount used in house over a month(100 l).
This project is focused to have a flowmeter that has the ability to act both as velocity flowmeter & volumetric flowmeter. So, that it can be used by researchers and also customizable to their requirement rather than procuring a new one for different applications.
A typical flowmeter has a casing, transducer and transmitter. Casing is to ensure leak proof operation thereby avoiding any measurement error. Transducer senses the fluid passing through them and converted through transmitter into raw signal. In this project, the data is processed using Arduino and displayed through LCD display.
Bill of Materials
Exploded view mechancial component
1. Component of 3-d printer Casing:
Lower casing with integrated input and output tube
Blade rotor
Bearing carrying plate
Magnet mounted plate
top casing cover
Bearing (outer dia 30, inner dia 10, thickness 10) (in mm)
2XM8 bolt and nut
Electrical component
2. Electrical Component
Auduino Board
Couple of breadboard
Hall effect sensor
LCD display
Electrical wires
Tools needed for fabrication of flowmeter
MOST Delta RepRap or similar RepRap 3-D printer
Skills and Knowledge Necessary to edit design
3D Modelling software - FreeCAD
CURA(Matter control software)
Arduino programming
Technical Specifications and Assembly Instructions
Download all the .stl files from the link mentioned above.
Print all the parts keeping equal scale(x=100% y=100% z=100%) on CURA.
Trim off any extruding flash obstructing assembly.
Take the base of the Fig 8: Mesh Selection Window
Slide the small bevel gear into the top plate and the big bevel gear into the right plate.
Attach left side plate and bottom support plate to the previous assembly.
Weld the 4 top and 4 bottom joints to the top and bottom plates to make the frame rigid.
Attach handle to the big bevel gear.
Slide the small disc into the vertical small bevel gear. Attach the test tube plate on the small bevel gear.
Fix the box between the end of the small bevel gear and test tube plate.
Put the 4 rings on the top test tube plate and make welded joints to prevent the rings from snapping out of the apparatus while rotating.
Fix the four test tubes into the rings.
Fix the complete apparatus to the C-Clamps.
The apparatus is now ready to work.
The print time for the complete assembly must be around 22-24 hours with 30% Infill.
The assembly time for the complete assembly is around 1 hour.
Fig 1: Freecad Open SheetFig 2: Freecad New Sheet Open FreeCAD. Click on the ‘File’ tab and select ‘New’.
Fig 3: Part Selection Drop Down Menu Click on the drop-down box where it says ‘Start’ and select ‘Part’.
Now click on the file tab and select import option to use file with differenct format. FreeCad allows you to use various file type. FOr this example we will be using IGES file. Find the file in you system and upload. You can rotate the object with help of scroll button on the mouse. Fig 4: Importing IGES fileFig 5: Imported file window
Cost savings
The estimated cost of the manual centrifuge apparatus is approximately $8-10 for the basic PLA filament.
Commercial equivalent costs approximately $80-100. Check the commercial version here -> [1]
Savings of $90 is easily possible for our apparatus.
= Technical Specifications and Assembly Instructions
Demonstration video as shown
3D printed Flowmeter demonstration video
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