There are situations in life where a small pump may be needed. With it, you can supply air to the aquarium, to the oven, or use it for some other homemade. In this manual, we will look at how do it yourself You can make a small pump that runs on a DC motor. You can use a battery or power supply as a power source. This is just an example, you can do it yourself homemade any size and performance.
Materials and tools for homemade:
- motor;
- battery or power supply;
- bicycle camera;
- lid of the canister;
- a marker body or other suitable tube;
- glue;
- balloon;
- An old plastic bank card (or other source of plastic);
- MDF sheet;
- switch;
- drill;
- soldering iron;
- scissors;
- pliers;
- a clamp;
- a bolt with a nut, a bicycle spoke and other little things.
Pump manufacturing process:
Step one. Pump body manufacture
To make the pump case, the author used a plastic lid from the canister. We take a drill with a drill of 10 mm and drill at an equal distance of the hole. The more they will be, the higher will be the productivity of the pump.
At the end, take sandpaper and work on the drilling sites. Burrs must be removed, especially for the inside so that the valve fits snugly.
Step Two We make and install a check valve
In order for the pump to pump air, it must have a check valve. Thanks to him, the air will go inside, but will not be able to go back. To make the valve, the author used an old bicycle chamber. Just cut the circle so that it fits inside the lid. Rubber should block all openings. Now we drill a hole in the center of the cover and fasten the valve with a screw and nut, do not forget to put a washer under the screw.
Step Three Making the exit tube
So that you can connect a hose to the pump and use the outgoing air for your purposes, you need a piece of tubing.For these purposes, the author adapted the case from the felt-tip pen. We drill a hole of suitable diameter on the side of the lid and insert the tube. It is important that the tube goes tight, and there are no leaks, it is reasonable to use hot glue for fastening and sealing.
Step Four Piston
At this step, the piston will be made. The author makes it out of two plastic plates with which they sell SIM cards. Old bank cards and so on are also suitable. First cut two circles. They should be slightly smaller in diameter than the inside of the pump. Sand the surfaces thoroughly for good bonding.
You also need to make a membrane, since there is no tightness between the body and the piston, it is provided by the membrane. It should be soft and airtight, an ordinary inflatable balloon is perfect for such purposes. We cut out another circle from it, which in size should be slightly larger than the pump casing so that the membrane can be fixed.
Next, take two plastic circles and glue on both sides to the membrane. For reliability, the membrane can be made double, so it will last longer.
After the glue hardens, we drill a hole in the center of the piston and install the nut from the bicycle spoke. It can be fixed with hot glue, the author collects everything with ordinary hot glue.
The membrane can be tied to the body with threads, fastened with rubber band or glued. Also remember about tightness.
Step Five Pump base
To fix the engine and connect it to the pump, you need to make a base. The author made it from a piece of MDF. So that the base does not move during the operation of the pump from vibrations, the author attaches four legs to its base with glue.
Now it remains only to fix the pump. Here, too, a piece of gum or foam will be needed to glue the body to the base.
Step Six We fasten the engine and connect to the pump
The reciprocating movements from the engine are transmitted to the pump using a piece of bicycle spokes. Having selected the desired length, we bite off the extra puncture from the knitting needle, we need the piece on which there is a thread. We turn it into a bicycle nut installed in the piston. On the opposite part of the knitting needle, using pliers we form a bend in the form of the letter “G”.
For the motor shaft it will be necessary to make a “crankshaft”, the author cuts a round timber from fiberglass and drills two holes in it. But you can come up with a simpler design. The knee can be made all from the same knitting needles, plastic gears from toys, watches and so on. Note that the farther from the center the hole for the connecting rod is drilled, the greater the piston will have a stroke. Make sure your piston has enough travel.
That's all, now it remains to fix the engine itself. Here you need a piece of the bar, in it you need to grind a groove for installing the engine. Now we glue this whole thing. The author everywhere uses super-glue, but it would be safer to use hot glue, and preferably epoxy. Still, the engine has considerable loads.
Seventh step. Electrical part
The author feeds his pump from the cell of the battery removed from the laptop, probably 18650. The battery has a capacity of 2200 mAh and an operating voltage of 3.7V. The homemade product is also equipped with a switch for convenience. Solder all the wires, as during vibrations they will shake pretty much. Secure the battery and switch with hot glue. That's all, the pump is ready, you can start testing!
Thanks to the battery, it can be transported without difficulty, but if it is not necessary, it is easier to power the pump from the power supply.
Step Eight. Homemade testing
To illustrate the pump, the author put a hose on the outgoing fitting and lowered it into a can of water. When you turn on the device, you can see that it is quite actively blowing air.The pressure is such that the hose constantly wants to take off.
As can be noted, all of the available materials are collected, and the adjustment range is quite large. You can do model larger or smaller, depending on your needs.