Garden Pinwheel

Summary

Historical designs meet a 3D printed creation! This eye-catching pinwheel weather vane creation provides a whimsical and practical garden ornament. The Fusion 360 design file enables the user to modify the parameters (shape of pinwheel petals, leafs, length of fuselage etc) and be able to choose from the multitude of colors available for 3D printing in order to compliment their unique garden setting.  

Overview

This design marries the pinwheel and weather vane concepts into a versatile garden ornament for today.  Pinwheels can be traced back to 400 B.C. (China). Over the years it has come to connote whimsy and playfulness with symbolism for childhood hope, health and happiness.    Weather vanes which are noted to be closely related to pinwheels, were first used between 1600 and 1800 B.C. in Sumeria.  Wind vanes are used for indicating wind direction and is one of the oldest meteorological instruments.  The tail end of the fuselage in this design has a larger surface area from the pinwheel and when the wind blows, the greater resistance in the tail end rotates the pinwheel in the direction from which the wind is blowing. The wind vane is functional in knowing that wind direction changes often accompany changes in the weather. Exactly what type of weather the wind brings depends a lot on what type of environment (ocean, desert, mountains, plains, etc.) exists in every direction near your location.

• Wind from the south often means warmer, moister air is approaching.
• Wind from the north often means cooler, dryer air is approaching.