Making high efficiency turbine pump/vacuum (Tesla) - taking part requests

After reviewing the design of the Tesla turbine (it is really genious!!!) and finding that it can act as a turbine/generator or a pump/vacuum and works well with gases or fluids at up to 97-98% efficiency, I have decided to look into building one for lab/home use. For those who don't know what this is, you need to look into the design and HOW it works to understand the brilliance of the design.








My plan is to use parts that are already manufactured to a very high standard and only need minimal alterations for use. I've also found very acceptable (price wise & construction) means of powering this unit at 15-30,000 rpm with a motor rated at 4-5.5A @ 120v.

The plan is to use hard drive platters which are manufactured to a very high tolerance for balance and can maintain speeds of 10,000 RPM very easily (I've seen youtube videos using platters rated at 7200 rpm - running at over 25,000 for extended periods). My plan is to use much better platters designed for 15,000 rpm as they will be more likely to not deform at the working speeds. The platters should be very resistant to corrosion as they are coated with, what is reported to be, atomized platinum, on top of what seems like some unique kind of aluminum alloy (although seems much tougher than Al as 2 platters stop a 22 lr bullet....) by weight but seem more like titanium in strength.

As there needs to be holes cut into the platters I plan to have these sent somewhere they can be precision cut to minimize any deformation in the platters (minimize any vibrations at high speeds). This is expected to be one of the more costly aspects of the project and I suspect getting more platters cut at once will not cost so much more, so I want to know if there is interest in others getting platters cut.

The final two aspects with which I have concern are the bearings and casing/enclosure material for the unit. I have seen this exact design using clear acrylic and polycarbonate and other turbines using plate Al. As for the bearings, I suspect I could use the original hard drive bearings rated for 15,000 (videos prove these efficient for much higher speeds) but would like something a little more sturdy for 30,000 rpm. Any suggestions on this?

My only concern with this project is the size/diameter of the platters not being large enough to produce the desired power. I'm wondering if this can be overcome by stacking more plates to achieve more suction/pumping action. Also, I have not found out if efficency drops due to platter size or anything similar to this.

So, this is basically the jist of the project I want to undertake and am looking for others with interest in the same thing. Those with interest in helping with the design and or have interest in buying parts (having them made same time as mine) please contact me as well.

If anyone has any experience with Tesla turbines, please feel free to comment or if anyone knows of any major drawbacks to this kind of design, I'd like to hear these b/c all the sites/pages I've visited are all majorly biased towards these and don't speak of any negatives to these devices.