It’s almost impossible to express how happy I am that I don’t need one of these right now–but this amazing, 3D printed RC snow blower will come in handy the next time winter rolls around.
Ryan Lee Butler, who’s known online as “Moo Spyker” or “The Great Moo,” works online in “Second Life” where he creates video game content. Butler has also spent the last eight years working with with 3D design programs like 3ds Max, CAD, CAM, and CNC machines, and he says he’s constantly building or designing things.
Now he’s opened a Kickstarter to fund the development of his 2nd generation, all new 3D printed snow blower. He says he’s invested months into its design, and he’s looking for funding to continue to improve the snow blower. Butler says he’d also use a portion of the funds to develop a dedicated, tracked vehicle for the snow blower.
Butler has created a 1/10th scale, 3D printed snow blower meant to be used by remote control vehicles, and though he says there are already large scale RC snow blowers for tens of thousands of dollars on the market, he believes there’s a niche for a project aimed at hobby-level consumers.
The snow blower is powered by a standard 540 sized motor and uses standard RC servos to raise and lower the whole front unit. A servo is used to turn the chute that directs the snow and Butler says this latest iteration of his design can plow a 14″ x 5″ path through powdery snow in a single pass.
If the funding comes through, Butler says he hopes to deliver the snow blower kit itself along with a mounting system to attach it to an existing RC vehicle such as the Kyosho Blizzard SR. A deluxe version of the kit will include a dedicated, all-in-one, custom tracked vehicle designed specifically for the task as well.
The $60 backer level for the campaign features reward which consists of all the STL files needed to print the snow blower which will include parts lists, images, and instruction manuals. Starting with the $400 pledge level,rewards come in the form of already printed parts that simply require assembly. The reward kits that offer the printed parts also include the STL files seen in the lower backing levels.
And if the funds come through, Butler is planning to produce the devices via a sort of 3D printing cottage industry model.
“Everything will be produced in house by my family, friends and me,” he says. “I have two customized 3D printers with hundreds of hours on them. They both have E3D Volcano extruders with 0.6mm nozzles run by the newest Smoothie board controller. Simplify 3D software and my lifetime of computer experience is used to produce the best possible parts for these kits. I also will be using my full aluminum CNC machine that I completely designed and built from scratch. This will be used to mill out larger flat components from ABS plastic sheets.”
Butler says he’s already sold and shipped several kits of the current generation snow blower, and he’s currently selling the kits for $295 on his website. For the Kickstarter campaign, Butler has set a goal to raise $10,000 by May 9th.
What do you think about this 3D printed RC snow blower from Ryan Butler in Minnesota? Can you see yourself buying one of these to keep you inside on icy winter days? Let us know in the 3D printed RC Snow Blower forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below showing the RC snow blower in action.
