Alternative Material for Blade of Industrial Fan

In this way, power con-sumption, noise, mechanical components wear are decreased.

Not if your new blades are heavier, vary in weight and profile more than the aluminium ones. They may well be more expensive to produce too.
You need to research carefully.
Del

Any injection molder you find here:Search GlobalSpec can produce a plastic fan. It might not even need to be " glass-fiber reinforced plastic"

A plastic fan of the same dimensions as an aluminum fan will have the same acoustic signature. You'll have to vary the shape or speed of the fan to alter the noise profile.

I am all for lowering power consumption, noise and wear. I am curious as to exactly why this happens for this particular material change.One common "pop science" claim is everything is better with higher tech materials. Material changes improve things for specific reasons in specific applications.

I have seen aluminum fan blades and steel fan blades in many applications so I would not say "As you know usually the blades of industrial fan is aluminium".

I am willing to be convinced with specific facts.

Not sure what you mean by "industrial fan", but a great many high efficiency fans for fin fans or cooling towers are made from one of the moldable "plastics" GRP etc.

This allows for relatively easy manufacture of complex aerodynamic shapes which would be very difficult to achieve with Al.

Try these guys ...

http://www.canadianblower.com/

They say that they make fibreglass industrial fans, on this website ...

http://home.cogeco.ca/~fans/158/Index.html

Try these guys too .. http://www.swifter-fans.net/main/news.html

Cheers!
DZ

Don't forget these guys.

Fiberglass re-enforced plastic can be expensive to mold since it is very abrasive in the molten state and the mold and injection system are subject to a high degree of wear.

It is probably much more expensive to produce than other forms of plastic which have by their composition better physical properties, i.e. Lexan. I somehow feel that if what you state was so easy to achieve, it would have been done already due to the competitive nature of the both the fan industry and the plastics industry.

The tooling costs for plastic injection molds for large diameter fans would be quite high and the quantity involved would not allow a fast write-off of the capital expense.

The injection machines would have to be quite large since the clamping pressure involved would be high due to the area of the blades. The injection pressure would also be high in order to properly fill the large mold diameter. The preceding of course could be diminished by molding the blades individually and attaching them somehow to the hub.

Hi AUREL,

I can understand your concern about the weight and the larger the fan the more power it 'absorbs', but you are way off target when you say Industrial Fans are usually Aluminum. That, in my experience is not the case.

Noise will not necessarily be reduced. It is entirely due to the design of the fan and its surround.

You simply cannot lump all fans used in an industrial situation as "Industrial".

Were you going to redesign for a particular size or type? I mean Fans come in all sizes from a few cm to several metres. And, especially with the larger type, they really need to be fitted and forgotten. If the fan has to be inspected regularly, that alone may negate any perceived advantage.

Another minus could be the fibreglass having to be laid up by hand, as I think it would need to be? A metal fan can be made in just a few seconds, unless you have a specialist idea for a fibreglass fan, I doubt if they are going to be widely acceptable.

The History of fibreglass is over one hundred years old, and if it was thought suitable for most fans, most fans would be made of fibreglass, do you not think? I realise there is some Fibreglass fans but would think you have a steep learning curve if you are to compete with the 'experts' in this type of fan design.

Have you researched this topic, and if so as I said earlier, what type of fan will you be making?

I wish you luck, and your idea is laudable, and though you do not say, you may already have experience and potential ideas of the possible market for fibreglass fans. Please keep in touch and let me/us know how you are getting on, OK?

You may have already checked but I list this detail of fibreglass FYI.

History of Fiberglass

I have to agree with you here. The vast majority of "Industrial Fans" whether for ventilation, dust control or HVAC duty are generally just plain old steel. Sometimes aluminum or plastic impellers are used but generally plain old riveted sheet metal impellers are used.

There are specially fans or blowers that use cast iron housings and impellers but they are often for higher discharge pressure applications.

Most of the fiberglass uses I've encountered have been for high moisture conditions (cooling towers) or corrosive environments or removing vapors off mixing tanks where acetic acid or the like are present and detrimental to steel.

Hi Spinco,

Just a note to say I appreciate your remarks!

In addition to the OPs fibreglass blade, it may well be necessary to build an extra enclosure to prevent the fan itself from damage?

Just a thought.

Hi and welcome nicsdpatel,

If you want or need to send your phone number please send it by PM.

Once someone has your number they can find your name and can completely take over your Identity.

I hope they don't but it really is the most immature and silly thing to do. I and several thousand others will give you a ring on Xmas day and ask if you still have your car, house, bank account, and anything else which belongs to YOU!

IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW YOU CAN PERSUADE THE BANK AND OTHER THAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY YOU AND YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN ALL YOUR MONEY FROM YOUR BANK?????

I did a thread on this a few weeks ago, pity you did not see it. Here is the link.

Click the Hypertext below.

Why you should not list email, phone and home address in open forum