Eccentric Sphere Gears
Derived from
Description
This is based on emmett's cube gears ( thingiverse.com/thing:6073 ), but with a lot of improvements to the script. Rendering still takes a long time at first (as much as 10 minutes for this version), but I've added caching so that you don't have to wait that long every time. The render statements I used to do this also stop the OpenCSG renderings from looking like something homicidal impressionist clown with dyslexia painted during an earthquake. I also made the animation work, though even with the caching it won't exceed a few fps. The most important thing, though, is that I added a module to the parameters section to define the shape to cut into gears. You can now make gears out of any STL just by dropping the "import_stl" into this module.
Instructions
You can assemble them by threading M3 screws into the plastic of the center block. Use 16-18mm screws for the large gears and 18-20mm screws for the small gears.
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I am trying to assemble these sphere gears that I printed. Can't seem to get it together right. So I downloaded the scad file. What do I have to do to this scad file to make it display the fully assembled, color coded sphere that you describe in the instructions? Every time I try to render it, it shows me the center piece and then 8 cylinders going in the different directions, I don't get any color coded gears. I have eightgears() //render full assembly uncommented.
Also, any tips for figuring out how to line up the gears?
That line should render it as described, I'm not sure why it wouldn't. What do you see when you render using CGAL? This should show you the complete assembly without the colors.
As for lining up the gears, it's just trial and error. Screw one in, then place one of the adjacent gears in its place (without a screw until you find the right orientation, and rotate the two until it feels like a smooth sphere. If it doesn't become smooth, move the loose gear one tooth over and
try again, and once you've got it, insert the screw for that gear. Repeat until you've got them all in.
You should also be able to just see latitudinal and longitudinal lines due to the tessellation of the sphere, at least on the larger gears, so you can use them to align those gears.
"homicidal impressionist clown with dyslexia painted during an earthquake
I love technical descriptions!
Thanks for raising the bar higher for me - I've got a lot to learn on OpenSCAD. This will be fun to print.
That's awesome! I can't wait to take a look at your script; I didn't even know what you're talking about was possible with openSCAD. Well done.
License
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