Hypocycloid How To Part 2 - Some Experiments

thingiverse

This Thing will encourage you to explore these questions and learn some interesting things about hypocycloid gear reducers at the same time. Firstly, if you're wondering how to get less reduction in your Hypocycloid Gear Reducer (Thing 79231), consider using a '4x4 lobe rotor' and a '5x5 lobe rotor'. Assemble these with the corresponding output blocks - a '6 roller block' and a '5 roller block', respectively. Alternatively, you can use just one cam instead of two, but this may raise questions about how to get an output shaft to turn when the cam moves eccentrically. To investigate this, disassemble your Hypocycloid Gear Reducer, remove the 4x5 lobe rotor, and replace it with the 5x5 lobe rotor. Assemble the reducer and observe that the rotor will only translate in an eccentric pattern, yet the output shaft will still turn at a 1/6th turn for each turn of the input (6:1 reduction). To understand this phenomenon better, try the 4x5 rotor with the 5 roller output block and measure the revolutions of the input required to produce one output revolution. Additionally, you can experiment by turning the rotor over and observing the resulting reduction. Lastly, if you want a little less reduction, use a 4 lobe rotor on both sides - a '4x4 lobe rotor' with a '5 roller output block'. Conduct these experiments to gain valuable insights into hypocycloid gear reducers and design one that suits your needs.