{"id":8444,"date":"2026-04-10T07:21:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/?p=8444"},"modified":"2026-04-10T07:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:21:54","slug":"cheap-efficient-3d-printed-dust-collector-cyclones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/cheap-efficient-3d-printed-dust-collector-cyclones\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheap, Efficient, 3D Printed, Dust Collector Cyclones"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This project started out as a necessity. My wood shop dust collector was acting up, and the motor wasn’t turning on. I replaced the capacitor on it, and that got it back to being alive for about a month before it failed again. I thought the motor was dead (it wasn’t), and I ventured into getting a new dust collector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I quickly wanted a solution, and ordered a 5HP Oneida Dust Gorilla…but it wouldn’t ship for a month…so I cancelled the order, and ordered a 5HP Grizzly Cyclone Dust collector<\/a> ($3700 plus tax\/shipping), which would arrive in a week. I started to prep my shop for it…and I realized that the machine required a 40 Amp circuit and special cutoff switch. I also realized didn’t have a HEPA grade filter…and I really want good filtration. It just said “Filtration: 0.2-2 micron”, which I thought was close to HEPA, but after talking to Grizzly support I realized it would let through dust particles up to 2 microns into the air. Some of the worst stuff to breathe! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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So: bad filtration, and excessive power consumption sounded bad to me. I cancelled the Grizzly order, but it was too late: it had already shipped and was close to me in Reno. I went through some back and forth, and got it sent back under their 30 day guarantee, but I had to pay two way shipping and a 10% restocking fee. So, I lost $1200 <\/strong>on that deal. I’m sure I would have lost more if I kept it and tried to sell it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I put another capacitor in my existing motor and it seemed to be okay again. Back in 2023 I built a dust collector closet for the machine<\/a>, and I was wondering if excessive heat was damaging the motor. I was also getting poor filtration; my small HVAC filter was frequently full of fine dust, and some fine dust was escaping out the cracks of the enclosure. The best place for a dust collector is outdoors, or at least venting outdoors, but I can’t do that in my climate. I decided to nix the closet and go for something DIY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led me into 3D printing my own solution. Initially I was going to do the project by Capturing Dust with their Horizontal Centrifugal Separator<\/a>, which is available as a free download: https:\/\/github.com\/Makerr-Studio\/CentrifugalDustSeparator<\/a> – (NOTE: newer files are behind a paywall) and is based on the work of some other people, notably Pilson Guitars and Under Dunn, but the overall concept is based on the Harvey Woodworking design<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I realized Harvey Woodworking has a new design, their Pro dust collectors, and I thought it looked a lot like something I could replicate with some 3d printed parts and a 5 gallon bucket.

So, I made this contraption, and did some quick tests, and a full video documenting my thoughts and ideas<\/a>. I also shared the files as a free download: Horizontal Dust Separator CAD\/STL Files<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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