Festival Fan with USB-C

Overview

A portable and powerful USB-C fan with multiple speeds for surviving music festivals and climate change. Select from four or more speeds with the push of a button.

Pair with a spray bottle with pressurized mist for maximum cooling.

Caution

The fan's suction is strong enough to pull long hair or strings into the blades! Pay careful attention when fanning near others.

Tools

1. Soldering iron
2. Screwdriver with 3.0 mm hex bit

Parts

1. Male USB-C to male USB-C power cable
2. Fan
   1. 120 mm width x 120 mm height x 38 mm deep
   2. Can have 2, 3, or 4 wires, but only 2 are required (V+ and GND)
   3. I used the Delta AFB1224SHE
3. Decoy PCB (ZY12PDN chip) for USB-C PD
   1. I used this one from DKARDU and desoldered the terminal blocks, but you can buy them without the terminal blocks
4. 1 or 2 x fan grille
   1. I designed the Enclosure to work with the Gardtec SC120-W5
5. 8 x M4 socket cap bolts
   1. Minimum length: 10 mm
   2. Maximum length: 20 mm
6. (optional) Noctua NV-AA1-12 Airflow Amplifier
7. (optional) Spray bottle with pressurized mist
   1. Usually allowed into most music festivals because the plastic is soft, but YMMV

Assembly

1. Solder the Fan's wires to the PCB.
   1. Red is positive.
   2. Black is negative.
2. Orient the Enclosure so that:
   1. the Fan's inlet hole is facing the Earth,
   2. the USB-C port is facing towards you, and 
   3. the External Button hole is facing your right.
3. Insert the metal inlet grille into the Enclosure.
   1. Ensure the grille is oriented with the screw holes angled up.
4. Orient the Fan so that:
   1. the open blades face the Earth and
   2. the Fan's wires exit from the right.
5. Insert M4 nut PCB into the fan's bottom right corner.
6. Slide the PCB into the M4 nut PCB with the USB-C port facing you.
7. Insert the remaining M4 nuts into the other corners of the Fan.
8. Coil any remaining slack wire with your finger, and insert into the space remaining by the top-right M4 nut.
9. Align the notches of the External Button and the Enclosure's hole for the External Button.
10. Insert the Fan assembly into the Enclosure.
11. Secure and lift/tilt the entire Fan and Enclosure assembly.
12. Align the Enclosure, metal inlet grille, and Fan with four (4) M4 bolts. Tighten by hand.
13. Screw the M4 bolts into the M4 nuts with a screwdriver.
14. Place the entire assembly back down with the metal inlet grille facing the Earth.
15. Place the metal outlet grille or Noctua NV-AA1-12 Airflow Amplifier over the Fan.
16. Align the metal outlet grille or Noctua NV-AA1-12 Airflow Amplifier to the Fan with four (4) M4 bolts. Tighten by hand.
17. Screw the M4 bolts into the M4 nuts with a screwdriver.

Discussion

Battery Life

I actually used the Delta AFB1212SHE in my testing, which is the 12 V version, but the next prototype will use the 24 V version. 

Here are the theoretical battery life ratings based on the measured power consumption at each voltage level on the AFB1212SHE:

*Battery life rating assumes that power bank provides the full 10,000 mAh theoretical capacity and that fan is used only at that voltage level for the entire time.

Part Selection

I made this project kinda quickly in preparation for one music festival, but there is lots of room for improvement. You may want to select different parts for various reasons:

1. I usually wear a small backpack to music festivals, so I don't mind carrying a power bank, cable, and a fan measuring 120 mm x 120 mm.
2. The noise rating is effectively meaningless at music festivals because the ambient environment is usually so loud, plus I wear musicians' earplugs, so you may opt for a quieter fan for use at home or at your desk.
3. Outdoor music festivals can get quite hot, so an airflow of 150 CFM is quite nice in the crowd. However, maybe you'll want a fan with greater cooling in exchange for shorter battery life.
4. The smallest fans I could find with similar characteristics for around $50 were the Sanyo Denki 9GV0824P1G031 and Delta PFB0824DHEP0. Size is 80 mm x 80 mm x 38 mm, but RPM is around 10,000, which is not ideal if you get hair or strings caught in the blades.

Fan

I liked the Delta AFB1224SHE because of its balance of airflow, power consumption, noise, and price. 

Airflow: 150 CFM or 257.99 m3/hr (conversion calculator: link)
Power Consumption: 12.00 W (rated)
Noise: 53.0 dB(A)
Price: $33.13 CAD

Power Bank

I have the Anker 733 Power Bank, which has a capacity of 10,000 mAh.

I like this power bank in general because of its multiple ports, higher charging rate for laptops, and its integrated wall outlet plugs. However, you may want a power bank that weighs less, has a smaller footprint, or has a different power capacity.

Decoy PCB for USB-C PD

The ZY12PDN chip on the decoy PCB tricks the USB-C port into negotiating all available voltages, i.e., 5 V (default), 9V, 15V, 20V. The spec for USB-C PD also includes 28 V and 48 V, but they seem to be rare in power banks.

If you buy a different board, it appears they all use the same reference design. Compare the location of the voltage selection button and LED. The dimensions of the PCB I used were 30 mm wide x 15 mm high x 1 mm deep, and I've included a STEP file of the decoy PCB.

Will require soldering the fan's two wires to the board. I'd prefer if the project were solderless, but the included screw terminal block is quite tall.

For more advanced usage, you can reprogram the chip using this Github project:
https://github.com/manuelbl/zy12pdn-oss

Metal Inlet Grille

The Enclosure may not fit every grille, so if you build one with a different one, let me know and I can modify the Enclosure.

Print Settings

Material

Print in PETG for better resistance to heat, UV, and mechanical impact. PLA will work, but not as well.

Supports

Use the organic style for better detail and easier removal, but the standard rectilinear style should be fine.