[DIY] 3D-printed automatic skimmer neck cleaner, parametric, free (BETA)

[emoleo]

Hi all! I've designed a drop-in replacement lid for the skimmer cup that automatically wipes the inside of the neck.

How it works:

• A 12 V gearmotor (JGB37-520, ~10 rpm) sits in a housing on top of the lid.
• It drives a magnet disc that turns a rotor through the lid (a magnetic coupling).
• The rotor carries two TPU 90A wipers against the neck wall.
• There's no shaft through the lid, so nothing for salt creep to seize, and the magnets slip if a wiper jams.

Parts: gearmotor, 8× 15×3 mm N42 epoxy-coated magnets (or 16× 10×3), M3/M5 hardware, a 12 V adapter and a smart plug to run it 2–3 minutes a few times a day. PETG parts, TPU wipers, no supports, plus one pause to drop the magnets in.
Fully parametric: hit "Customize" on MakerWorld, enter your cup and neck dimensions, and it generates all the parts. Three fitting styles: groove (Deltec-style), inner skirt or outer skirt.

It's a BETA that I'm testing on a Deltec. I'd love feedback and neck/cup measurements from other skimmers.
https://makerworld.com/models/3454296

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thank you for sharing this!

 

[Kooma]

Hi all! I've designed a drop-in replacement lid for the skimmer cup that automatically wipes the inside of the neck.

How it works:

• A 12 V gearmotor (JGB37-520, ~10 rpm) sits in a housing on top of the lid.
• It drives a magnet disc that turns a rotor through the lid (a magnetic coupling).
• The rotor carries two TPU 90A wipers against the neck wall.
• There's no shaft through the lid, so nothing for salt creep to seize, and the magnets slip if a wiper jams.

Parts: gearmotor, 8× 15×3 mm N42 epoxy-coated magnets (or 16× 10×3), M3/M5 hardware, a 12 V adapter and a smart plug to run it 2–3 minutes a few times a day. PETG parts, TPU wipers, no supports, plus one pause to drop the magnets in.
Fully parametric: hit "Customize" on MakerWorld, enter your cup and neck dimensions, and it generates all the parts. Three fitting styles: groove (Deltec-style), inner skirt or outer skirt.

It's a BETA that I'm testing on a Deltec. I'd love feedback and neck/cup measurements from other skimmers.
https://makerworld.com/models/3454296

I may try this. I have a regal 250 INT. Any thoughts on something that large for magnet and motor specs?

 

[emoleo]

Thanks both! Quick update first: it's out of BETA now. The final version (v1.0) is tested and running on my Deltec SC1350: 3 paddles instead of 2, everything on the wet side locked with 1.75 mm filament pins (no screws), magnets fully sealed in whole layers (the customizer tells you the exact pause height), and TPU for AMS wipers that just skim the wall instead of pressing hard. Same link: https://makerworld.com/models/3454296
@Kooma a Regal 250 INT should be doable, a couple of things to check first:

• Neck shape: v1 is designed for a straight neck. If the Regal neck is tapered, measure the diameter at the top and at the bottom of the area you want cleaned. A slight taper is fine with the TPU wipers, a strong cone isn't supported yet.
• Lid size: the lid is printed in one piece, so the outer diameter of the cup has to fit your bed (about 250 mm on a Bambu P1S/X1).
• Motor: the same JGB37-520 12 V ~10 rpm has plenty of torque. With wipers that only skim the wall the drag is low, even on a bigger neck.
• Magnets: the magnetic coupling is the weak link, not the motor. For a bigger neck I'd go 6–8 magnets of 15×3 or 20×3 mm (N42, epoxy coated) and push them further out (iman_r) in the Advanced → Magnets section. If a wiper ever jams, the magnets just slip, which is what you want.

If you post your cup ID/OD, neck ID, neck height to clean and the gap from the neck rim to the underside of your current lid, I'll run it through the generator and tell you if anything doesn't fit.