Open Differential Design

youmagine

Thanks for checking out my open style gear differential. I've successfully printed this group of components several times with no issues, so feel free to let me know if you encounter any problems. I printed these components at 50mm/s and a resolution of 100 microns on my Ultimaker 2 with the infill set at 15%. You can adjust these settings to achieve faster print times. For orientation on the print bed, I recommend printing parts with notches or long extruded pieces facing up to minimize support structures. The gears should be printed laying flat on the printer bed with the teeth of the gear sticking up. The pictures uploaded after rendering correspond to steps 1-7 of the assembly process. Everything is a press fit and goes together smoothly, so if you find yourself using excessive force at any time assembling, refer back to the pictures or ask for help! Required components and quantity: 2 Spider Gears 2 Axel Gears 1 Pinion Gear 1 Ring Gear 1 Spider Gear Support 2 Main Axels 1 Spider Gear Axel 1 Ring Gear Side Capture 1 Off-Side Gear Capture 1 Pinion Support Base 1 Hand Crank While assembling, it's easiest to keep the assembly orientation the same as they are in the pictures. Step 1: Insert the two main axels through the side captures. The ring gear side capture has a larger "rider" on it than the off-side capture. Face both notches towards you. Step 2: Take the assembly on your left and slide the spider support onto it. Once you have the side capture and spider support on, line up the hexagonal pattern on one of the axel gears with the axel and press it into place. Step 3: Take the assembly from your right in step one and slide the ring gear onto it. Snap the other axel gear onto the axel once the ring gear is in place. Step 4: On the ring gear side assembly, line up one of the spider gears with the hole on the support structure. Twist/slide the shaft through the support structure and spider gear until it's flush with the top of the hole. Be careful not to snap the support extrusion off the ring gear. Step 5: Take the ring gear assembly and the spider support (off-side) assembly and attach them together by lining up the notches in the spider support with the tips of the extrusions on the ring gear. Step 6: Put the gear assembly aside. Take the pinion support base and slide the hand crank through it from the flat side to the side with the extrusions. There is a stop collar on the hand crank to bottom it out. Press the pinion gear onto the hand crank until there's no back-and-forth play of the assembly in the pinion support base. Step 7: Take the gear assembly and the pinion base assembly and line up the extrusions on the pinion support base with the notches in both side captures. Once you press these together, you're done! To see the differential function, place it on the edge of a table and turn the hand crank while grabbing the handle on either main axel. The other axel will magically keep turning! Enjoy!