In a new video on her YouTube channel “Emily The Engineer” American YouTuber Emily builds various 3D-printed blades and knives and tests them on a lawn mower and hedge trimmer, among other things.
Using CAD software, Emily then modeled her own blades and printed them out of plastic using a 3D printer. Initially, it became apparent that the thin blades made of PLA were too weak for the lawn mower. However, after Emily reprinted the blades with a thicker filament, the lawnmower cut the grass with no problem.
Emily also removed one of the blades from an electric hedge trimmer. Here, however, the blade quickly broke at a screw connection. According to Emily, the problem was not so much with the material, but with the design of the blade.
Overall, the video shows that while functional blades can be made from printed plastic. However, without adapting the design and material, use on motorized devices is often problematic. While Emily’s printed blades can replace metal blades in the short term, they are not a permanent alternative.
The YouTube video shows in detail the design, printing and testing of the blades. Emily wants to arouse interest in technology in this way, but also reveals the limitations of plastic printing.
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