Week 22: Gears and Shafts
Overview of Activity:
Members learned about the functions of shafts, gears, bearings, and set collars, and used their new skills to create CAD models for a gear ratio challenge!
Shafts:
Shafts are long rods of metal that serve as an axle or a rotating part of a mechanisms. They usually have parts fixed onto them and transmit their rotational motion to them.
Gears:
Gears are parts designed to work on a shaft. Gears mesh with one another using their teeth and cause each other to rotate. By having gears of different sizes/teeth mesh, we can create gear ratios that increase or decrease speed or torque.
Bearings:
Bearings prevent shafts from shifting while still allowing them to rotate. They come in different shapes for different uses and allow for ease of spinning.
Set Collars:
Set collars clamp onto shafts, and are used to hold objects in place on shafts. They use set screws to adjust their positions, which are adjusted with allen keys.
Center to Center Distance/Gear Spacing
The center to center distance is found by taking the averages of the two gears pitch diameters. The pitch diameter is the diameter of the pitch circle, which is in the middle between the outer edge of the teeth and the circle where the teeth start.
Member Models:
Here are some of our member's designs!
Questions?
If you have any questions, feel free to go to our discord server and ask us in the #cad-and-design channel. You can also show us your success in the #general-photo channel.