3-D Solid Modeling of Screw and Scroll Compressors Including Animation

Abstract

The objective of the work is to do solid modeling of the screw and the scroll compressors using 3-D solid modeling software. Screw compressor rotors are available in various profiles out of which “N” profile with 3/5 configurations is taken for the modeling and fabrication purpose.
Scroll compressor consists of spiral vanes out of which one remains stationary and the other one wobbles around an axis so as to create a continuously decreasing volume between the two vanes. Solid modeling of screw and scroll compressors is achieved using the modeling software Autodesk Inventor Professional 11. The output of the software modeling is stored in various file formats out of which *.stl (STEREO LITHOGRAPHY) format is transferred to the Rapid Prototyping machine Z-Print 310 plus available at Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT Rourkela . Then the rotors were fabricated using rapid prototyping technology which were afterwards planned to cast in metal. When conventional methods of preparing moulds did not work, rapid prototyping was again used to make moulds. Solid modeling of moulds was done to create a cavity of rotor’s shape in a cylindrical mould of adequate wall thickness.