So far the description of this project is a bit thin, which is why I want to give some more information about the planned concept.

---

Goals

The basic idea is that with the help of the printon_turbine the manufacturing, assembly and installation of a renewable energy source powered by hydroelectric power is easy to realize even for beginners.

A large part of the parts should be able to be produced with a standard 3D printer. This means that the components do not have to be laboriously manufactured. They can easily be made on a 20x20x20 cm print bed of a standard 3D printer. As far as possible, the remaining parts should consist of standard mechanical parts that are readily available and, if possible, also reusable.

In the event of any damage to the system, it should be easy to reprint and replace the required parts.

In addition, the system should be as compact as possible and easy to transport. In this way, the system could be manufactured at a central location, assembled and then delivered to the location where it is actually needed. Here I think back to the beginnings of the Corona period, when "face shields" were manufactured in many fablabs and then delivered to surrounding hospitals.

---

Scenarios

For all of the following application scenarios, an important structural or geographical requirement is necessary: A difference in height and sufficient water at the upper level.

The water at the higher level thus has potential energy, which is (with the help of the printon_turbine) first converted into kinetic energy and then (with the help of the generator) into electrical energy .

From my point of view the following possible usecases should be possible:

• The turbine is used as a permanently installed system where the water in the upper level is refilled by the natural water cycle. This mostly works in sufficient quantity in mountainous regions where the rained-off water runs down the slope in streams. Here it is easily possible to take some water from these streams to feed the printon_turbine.
• The turbine is used in a pump storage system. For this purpose, in energy-rich times (e.g. during the day when there is a lot of solar and/or wind energy available), water is pumped from the lower level to the upper one. As soon as little or no renewable energy is available, the water can be released from the upper level via the printon_turbine and usable electrical energy can be generated from it again.
• The turbine is used as an emergency power supply. For this the turbine could generate electrical energy using the water supply network. To do this, the turbine is connected to the water supply. Instead of using the water pressure resulting from the height difference between two water levels, the water pressure generated by pumps in the waterworks is used. Admittedly, this application scenario would have very poor efficiency and environmental balance. Also it would be expensive. That's why you should really only consider this application scenario in an emergency. In addition, this only works during a local electrical power failure. If there is a widespread power outage, the pumps in the waterworks would very likely also fail soon.

---

Power

Of course, high power outputs cannot be achieved with a system of this size. In my opinion, there are two major limiting factors.

• On one hand the size, because so that everyone can rebuild the printon_turbine, it should be possible to produce it using the generally available 3D printers. Most print volumes are close to 20x20x20cm.
• On the other hand, the material, because ultimately the parts are made of plastic. Of course there are different materials with different properties. I'll have to find out what works best.

---

I will present my current ideas and solutions for these goals in another log. :)