I have posted a few Gadgets on the Vectric forum. One of the Gadgets is a gear maker. Gadgets will also work with PartWorks version 2.5 or greater. Here is a link to the Vectric posting http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=13908
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I have posted a few Gadgets on the Vectric forum. One of the Gadgets is a gear maker. Gadgets will also work with PartWorks version 2.5 or greater. Here is a link to the Vectric posting http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=13908
I bought Gearotic Motion a while back for a project I am working on. I am designing a new fishing rod holder to be made from 1/2" 6061 T-6 Al the rear ring on the rod holder will rotate and I used a gear set I created in Gearotic Motion then I imported that file into Aspire and node edited most of the gear to only leave 2 teeth on one side and 1 tooth on the other as I only need the part to rotate 20*. I may try and patent this rod holder so I can't publish pictures at this time but it works great.
Mike
Ryan
Thank you for reminding me about your gear generating gadget and making me aware of the other gadgets you've made available to us... I was under the impression that your gear app only made single tooth drawings, leaving it up to the user to copy and paste them in a circular array.
To all
I've made a totally unbiased comparison of Ryan's gear gadget and Inkscape's generator...
On the attached image I show identical gears created by both programs... I chose to make a gear with six teeth having a Diametral Pitch of 3. The Diametral Pitch is the number of teeth per inch and 3 is a number that can nicely be routed with a 1/8" router bit. As imported, you can see that the CPP gear has vastly more nodes that the Inkscape gear. For gears to mesh smoothly and with the least amount of friction possible, they should contact each other at a single point. For this to happen, the gear faces must be curves. As imported... the CPP gear approaches this with many many short segments, while Inkscape doesn't even pretend. After the nodes have been reduced the CPP gear faces have been replaced with Bezier curves while the Inkscape faces are still straight lines. Also Ryan's gadget places the center hole that you specify, while the Inkscape generator does not place a center at all. This is actually more important than it may seem... the center of a gear with an odd number of teeth is slightly different than the center of mass that will become the snap point.
I've cut a lot of gears from the Inkscape generator, but now will have to give it a thumbs down. Thank you Ryan for a quality tool for our arsenal.
Steve
Steve, Thank you for the compliments.
You are able to control the number of nodes by adjusting the Line Resolution setting. You may need to increase the line resolution setting for smaller gears.
Ryan
I admit I didn't try any changes with the line resolution setting... for some reason I assumed it had something to do with display graphics. I see now that it allows me to increase or decrease the number of nodes. Thanks for the clarification.
On another note... I've been playing with the spiral generator. When I make a spiral, I get a line composed of a multitude of nodes, and any attempt to reduce them by using "fit to curves" results in no change... Is this a mathematics issue or is there another method to reduce the nodes?
I was able to accomplish what I wanted by using the distort feature, but would like to deal with Bezier curves if possible...
Steve
Steve,
Converting to Beziers using the Fit to Curves tool is working for me and should work fine for all cases.
Tim
Tim
interesting... It's not working for me... here's my settings, how do they compare to yours?
Steve
I typically leave a tolerance setting of 0.001". Creates a more accurate copy but at the trade-off of more nodes.
I changed to your settings and it still worked. Considering the size of the spiral may have a bearing on it, I just made it different sizes and it worked in all cases.
Can you post your .crv3d/.crv file with the spiral you are having trouble with?
Tim
Here it is...
Thanks
Steve
I have had the same type of issue fit curves and can not duplicate 100%. I am not sure why it does not always work.
Here are a couple of pictures of gears. I put a section of gear on the outside just for a little style and was amazed that I got it lined up correctly for a gear to roll around the outside to the inside.
Wow, well over 3,000 views and going on 90 replies. This thread is a hit! :)
Guys, I may have a new spin (no pun intended) on how to set you gears on a shaft and with a little TLC, have the least resistance possible and no slop going on. This here little gizmo should be familiar to most router heads. It's a "roller bearing":
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...lerBearing.jpg
This particular little puppy came off of a 1/2" shank router bit, so naturally the inner hole is exactly 1/2" diameter, which should fit very snugly over 1/2" dowel rod with maybe a little persuasion. The outer diameter is 1 1/4", easy enough to cut your center hole to fit with maybe a little glue. The bearing is about 1/4" thick.
The inner and outer rings spin independently of one another on sealed greased bearings. Smooth as silk. Similar to shoulder bolts, this set-up would allow you to securely fasten your rod (axle) to your base (you DON'T want your rods to spin!), while allowing your gears to spin freely and securely.
Make sense? hmmm.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIDENTIFIED...item5d2e7bc1c8
p.s. Never mind those harmonicas in the background of the pic. I can't play. :(
p.s. Never mind those harmonicas in the background of the pic. I can't play.
Don't they also call that a mouth organ?:eek:
Let me ask, if you have small gears like the ones you've cut so far do you really need the bearings? I know i mentioned using a washer to just raise the gear enough off the surface to keep the friction down but these bearings look like they are made to help rotate around the shaft as opposed to help rotate something laying on top of them? If the ball stuck proud of the bearing surface wouldn't that be better?
Reading the item description it seems these are more meant to roll something on the outside edge as if they were sitting on their sides. In that case you could make the hole on the gear large enough to fit over the outside edge and would give you the benefit? Keep up the research and design:D
Jack I think the roller bearings are the way to go. If your material is thick enough, you could actually cut a pocket in the back of your gears for them to fit in snugly (with a little adhesive to make sure nothing slips). The result? No visible hardware on the fronts!
I don't know when I'll get to my next gear project, but roller bearings it will be! Here's some more: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bearings-for...item4ab573dc43
Edit to say: I bought those bearings. :)
Ryan,
What is the blue material you have for the gear backing?:confused:
Jack, what kind of motors did you order?
it was the motor and power supply in the links you gave me from MPJA. I got them the other day, i just haven't had the opportunity to do anything yet.
Naw, that was Steve. Those motors have the tiny shafts.Quote:
Originally Posted by myxpykalix
I would like to get a small motor to use as a generator. Connect it to a small light and Kids could play with the different gear ratios to see how bright they can get the light.
The blue material is ColorCore http://www.kingplastic.com/products/all-products/king-colorcore/. After drilling the holes I tapped them to be able to mount the shoulder bolts. The shoulder bolts worked will but would be better if bearings were used as Mark suggests.
Folks, I have been messaging Brett Dickins, the master gear sculptor from Australia that I mentioned at the beginning of this thread and come to find out, Brett uses dowel rods and roller bearings. The following info is straight from Brett:
Mark,
The dowels are hardwood, usually some variety of Oak (any hardwood dowel will do) and I buy them at my local hardware store. The bearings are from a bearing specialty store, I'm sure you will find one nearby with a bit of a search. First I degrease the outer edge of the bearing, and add epoxy to the center of the hole of the gear.. Place the bearing inside the hole and let it set sitting on a flat surface so that gear and bearing are flush with each other rather than the bearing being crooked inside the hole. I then add epoxy to the front and rear of the edge where the bearing meets the gear center so that it can't go anywhere. The 8mm center of the bearing goes over the dowel, I use a piece of PVC pipe and a hammer to persuade them onto the dowel, then some epoxy front and back where the bearing meets the dowel to ensure it will never go anywhere either. At this stage you have a gear mounted to a bearing on an axle, and it's ready to go into your sculpture. I also sand the gears and add a circular wooden piece to the front end of the axle to hide the bearing underneath, and clear coat everything a few times for a nice glossy finish, all cosmetic.
You will very much learn from experience what works best for you as you go along. It actually took me the best part of 2 years of development (my degree is in visual art, not engineering) to get my works to the stage where I was comfortable selling them and knowing that barring any stresses that they weren't designed for such as being dropped, then they will run smoothly for many years to come.
Well there you have it guys, straight from the horses mouth, and I can't take credit for the idea.
Brett has his gears laser cut, but obviously it makes no difference how they are cut as long as it's accurate. The bearings he uses have an 8mm center hole, and here's a link I found for 8mm wooden dowel rod: http://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalo...p?p_ref=260423
I've made a few sets of motorized gears and now I'm really itching to get to my next set. I can see how the roller bearing & dowel rod axle set-up will eliminate so many problems and frustrations I have encountered previously, which has stopped me from tackling more complex and intricate designs. It's the way to go, no doubt. I'll probably use 10mm sheet PVC for the gears (I like the way PVC cuts and it's fun and easy to paint), with a hole pocketed (counter sunk) in the back of the gears for the bearing and axle assemblies (nothing visible on the fronts).
I still haven't decided on a motor. It needs to meet several requirements for me: small, quiet, readily available, relatively inexpensive, 120 v., already wired up (or easily wired up) with a plug, easily mountable, a hefty and adaptable shaft, and low rpm. Any suggestions?
Once I have everything I need, it's gonna get crazy! :)
I'm gonna send Brett a link to this thread and see if he might like to join in.
After reviewing this thread, I see that Steve had posted a link earlier for the PERFECT motor for me! Thanks, Steve!
http://www.micromark.com/animation-gearmotor,7886.html
That's the one!!! :)
I recently bought an old Machinery's Handbook published in 1950, and it explains how to construct the involute gear form and has all the required specs. We can make things easily now with modern equipment and should take a moment to appreciate those who made it possible. The heavy thinking was done in the seventeen hundreds.
Peter, I would love to see that book!
I had to do some heavy thinking myself before all of these cool gear generating programs came along. You have to work with pi, diameters and circumferences, all kinds of crazy mathematical equations that can cause a man a headache. Been there, done that.
You're right. It's easy enough now to generate the gears with modern software/programs. How creative and imaginative you can get with the gears' center designs, themes for great looking and fun displays, as well as coming up with the right hardware to put it all together and make the displays run smoothly are the challenges left.
This has been an amazing thread that has addressed most if not all of the challenges for hardware. The rest is left up to your imagination!
Attachment 14791
It is all good
now it's click, click, click and you're done! Well Mark that's what made you so smart is all that there book-lernin. But look what you have teached us!:rolleyes:
Ha! I'm hardly smart,...just determined to discover the right way to do things and the World Wide Web makes that a lot easier.Quote:
Originally Posted by myxpykalix
Jack, I think you may have purchased the incorrect motors as the shafts are so small. The one I'm getting (see 5 post above) will work much better and make your life easier. Can you return for refund and get the better one(s)?
One thing I wanted to add: I've noticed how Brett installs a piece of clear plex over most all of his displays. This is a great idea for permanent wall displays to protect against dust, damage and the prying hands of curious children.
As far as how to hang them (the displays, not the children!), I think french cleats would be the way to go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP6mP_bApGY
I think Steve sent me the links and i just bought 2 of them. They weren't but about 6-8 bucks each i think hardly worth the time and expense to ship back but i did have the same thought about the shaft being too small but and figured he knew what he was talking about.....
BUT NOOOOOOO....:D lol
I copied your link and might get a couple of those. What i do think would be cool is if you could reverse the direction of the motors with a switch or program a time interval to run one way then reverse.:eek:
One thing I'm considering for a cool looking finish for my next gear project is Sculpt Nouveau. I've never used any but you can get beautiful patinas with it and I envision old antiqued rusted looking gears, slowly turning.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s-TG005865.jpg
http://www.sculptnouveau.com/
There's all kinds of instruction for its' use on YouTube and I know Joe Crumley has used a good deal of it before with stunning results.
Also, rattle can spray paint has come a long way in recent years, with all kings of metallic and textured paints available. You can imitate the color/finish of everything from solid gold to solid stone.
This thread has really gotten me worked up again to get back into gear making and kinetic wall sculptures!
As far as switching the polarity, look into Arduino. There is a bit of learning curve, but not a huge one. Lots of good stuff on Maker's blog.
Once again I refer to the master, Mr. Dickins, for inspiration and ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1De-...3&feature=plcp
I think the guy is pure genius with his work.
Chris,
Is Arduino close to Tatuwin? lol
Electronics is not my forte, soldering circuits and wires is not my thing. Now if i can buy it made up that's a different story.
Mark
I have had many splendid experiences with Sculpt Nouveau... and stunning failures! Working with it is 33% art, 33% science, and 33% luck. Each and every time you use it is a new day, and anything you thought you learned yesterday is worthless... There are so many variables that effect the outcome that there is always one or more that are not able to be controlled. Time, temperature, humidity, altitude, attitude, are just a few of the identifiable ones. In the end is it worth it? OH YES! Each and every project is unique and not repeatable... Never tell a customer "It'll look like this" because you just became a liar! Just a word of caution... Using Sculpt Nouveau is addictive.
If you use a Sculpt Nouveau finish your stacked gears will need to be spaced so that they don't rub on each other... then again, there are no rules in this game!
Steve
Steve,
I've found another way to do a "rusted" finish that may be easier, less expensive and more predictable:
http://artfullymusing.blogspot.com/2...about-any.html
Scroll down the page and you'll see the person even did a set of gears with this method.
But I still wanna try the Sculpt Noveau and I think using patinas can really make for great looking and truly unique displays. You reckon it'll do good on PVC?
Gentlemen, I've decided that the theme for my next effort will be "Tempus Fugit". Any guesses what that means? Stay tuned! :)
Tempus fugit is a Latin expression meaning "time flees":)
I asked her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O8rWViCixQ
You googled it, didn't ya Jack? lol Best known in English as "Time Flies".Quote:
Originally Posted by myxpykalix
I'm working on a design for a crazy clock display that makes no sense, tells no time, but will be a hoot to view in motion if I can solve an engineering problem I've already encountered. I know there's a solution but I haven't figured it out yet and that's half the fun. Some of this stuff can tickle your puzzler!
Here's the first gears I cut with Ryan's gadget. It's a planetary gear drive designed with a formula I found online... R=(2xP)+S where R = the number of teeth in the ring gear, P = the number of teeth in the Planet gears, and S = the number of teeth in the Sun gear. My setup is R=33, P=12, and S=9. thus 33=(2x12)+9. Since I chose variables all divisible by three, I can have three planet gears equilaterally spaced around the sun. Other variables could result in planet gears not equally spaced or where another quantity of them may be appropriate, such as four planet gears...
I didn't find any tutorials on designing the internal gear, so I just trimmed a regular gear internally close to the pitch circle. It seems to work, but I'm open to suggestions as to the "correct" method of doing this.
I cut these gears just as the gadget designed them...They made a very snug and likely correct fit, but perhaps a little to tight for this project. I'll cut a new sun gear with a few thousandths of allowance.
Overall, I'm pleased with the results, and the planetary gear transmission is fun to play with and see what different combinations of gear reduction and multiplication you can come up with.
Steve G
Steve,
Have you see this: http://woodgears.ca/reader/walters/planetary.html
it is similar and you might get some ideas or help in your equations?
No I didn't google it, i watch Jeopardy regularly, you'd be surprised at what you pick up from that..plus I always have a back up.....Marina at HotForWords.com:eek:
Very cool, Steve. You are now a certified "Gear Head"!
Jack, I think the link you've posted to Ronald Walter's work was initial work for this project here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzIG9stFXSI
Pointless, useless,...and absolutely brilliant!
What i'm amazed at is, not only the design but the tenacity to stick with it and create something like this. I don't know how long it took him to do this but its amazing.:D
It is amazing, but certainly not his first go at it. He started somewhere with a learning curve like we all do. But yes,... his tenacity, inventiveness, imagination, skill and craftsmanship are something to behold! And for all I've been able to deduct, he cuts all of his parts with hand tools! :eek:
I solved my engineering problem for "Tempus Fugit", I think, and can't wait to start cutting, but I don't have the funds for materials at the moment. Things are pretty skinny around here and I don't have enough scrap laying around to do the job, so it's gonna have to wait but that's ok. I can still design and plan this project, and time spent doing that always pays off. What I've learned in the past week about dowel rod, roller bearings and the right motor alone has unleashed all kinds of possibilities for a whacky, fun kinetic wall sculpture/display!