Educational Gear System

myminifactory

This is an uncomplicated gear system that can be entirely 3D printed without requiring any support structures. It's intended to show younger kids how gears work and what they do. To put together the gear box, you'll need to print: one base, two pin1 parts, two pin2 parts, two drive gears, and two gears (the files are named accordingly). A small amount of glue might be needed where the pins connect to the base since they're smaller than the holes in the base. This ensures that any errors on certain printers are accounted for. The two drive gears go at each end of the base, connected using the 'pin1' file. The two gears go in the middle and are connected using the 'pin2' file. I designed this simple gear mechanism because I believe straightforward models like this really help people grasp basic mechanisms. This is a two-way gear system because turning one cog makes the opposite end cog spin quickly or slowly, depending on the gear direction. I think this design is well-suited for the HOPE3D printer because it's small, easy to print, and can be mass-produced by anyone with a 3D printer. The design is all small enough to fit on any conventional home 3D printer.