Oster Ice Cream Maker gear

thingiverse

This project is what sparked my decision to buy a 3D printer. We purchased an ice cream maker several years ago but had only used it a few times. Last winter, we were making a batch of ice cream when the machine suddenly stopped turning the canister. I removed the motor housing and discovered that one of the plastic speed reduction gears had broken into three pieces. Online research revealed that finding a replacement gear was impossible; the manufacturer expected customers to buy an entire new motor instead. Reviewing their website, I noticed that multiple users had experienced the same issue, with 7-8 reviews claiming that their machine broke the same gear. The manufacturer's response usually included a phone number for contacting them about warranty replacements. Since my warranty had expired, I decided to create a custom replacement. I used Sketchup to model the new part, taking precise measurements from the broken piece. To take some measurements, I had to reassemble the broken pieces with super glue. In Sketchup, I installed an extension that generates gears and modeled the rest of the part using basic techniques. The gear was printed with standard PLA filament. To ensure a smooth fit, I ran a drill through the bore since my printer wasn't calibrated perfectly, resulting in a slightly undersized hole. The new gear meshed perfectly with the existing ones. Although it's been too cold to make ice cream this winter, I tested the motor by applying resistance to the canister while it was running. To simulate wear and tear, I held the canister firm enough for the teeth to skip. After disassembling the motor again, I inspected the gear for damage but found none.