At WestSide 3D, we love projects that go beyond everyday 3D prints and step into the world of education, engineering, and innovation. Recently, we partnered with Turlock Irrigation District (TID) to bring to life a 3D printed hydroelectric power plant model complete with a working Pelton turbine and demonstration components.
This project was originally designed by makers in the open-source community and featured on Hackaday. We had the privilege of producing the full-scale version for TID to use as an interactive teaching tool.
How the Model Works
The hydroelectric model demonstrates the core principles of renewable energy:
- Potential → Kinetic Energy: Water stored at height flows downward, creating force.
- Kinetic → Mechanical Energy: The Pelton turbine converts water flow into rotation.
- Mechanical → Electrical Energy: A BLDC motor acts as a generator.
- Visual Power Indicator: An LED strip lights up to show electricity being produced.
By changing the water flow or the height difference, students and observers can see in real time how energy production is affected.
The Printing Challenge
This project was big requiring 8 full build plates on our 16×16×20 printer.
- Plate 1: 40 hours / 720g
- Plate 2: 19 hours / 395g
- Plate 3: 14 hours / 300g (6 parts)
- Plate 4: 32 hours / 629g
- Plate 5: 11.5 hours / 225g
- Plate 6: 36 hours / 611g
- Plate 7: 26 hours / 500g
- Plate 8: 28 hours / 385g
Estimated Print Time: ~207.5 hours
Estimated Filament: ~3,765 grams (3.7 kg)
Naturally, the print times and filament usage increased because of the tight overhangs and tricky geometry in this design, but in the end, we delivered a fully functional model.
The shape of the turbine created a significant challenge in the printing and we ultimately ended up having to reprint it several times. We also needed to re-modify portions of the design to account for a different generator being used. This ended up pushing the project’s print time a couple hundred hours over the original print time and a little over 2kg more in filament.
Final Print Time = 397 hours.
FInal Filament = 5,800 grams.
Seeing all the parts come together into a working hydro plant model was nothing short of incredible. The faster the water flows and drops onto the pelton turbine, the more power output it can produce.
Why Projects Like This Matter
This hydroelectric power plant model isn’t just a cool build it’s a bridge between classroom learning and hands-on engineering. For TID, it provides a way to teach renewable energy concepts in an interactive, visual, and memorable way.
For us at WestSide3D, it shows how 3D printing can scale up to deliver professional, large-format, functional models for companies, schools, and organizations. Whether it’s a hydroelectric plant, architectural model, or industrial prototype if you can imagine it, we’ll get it printed.
Central Valley 3D Printing
We’re grateful to Turlock Irrigation District for trusting WestSide3D with this project. If your company, school, or organization has an idea for a custom 3D printed model, get in touch with us today we’d love to help bring it to life.
