Replacement gear for L.L. Bean mini crank 3 LED flashlight

thingiverse

A few years ago, one of my L.L. Bean mini-crank 3 LED flashlights suddenly stopped working, and I couldn't wind the crank to charge it anymore. I own several flashlights because I dislike using disposable batteries, so I took it apart to investigate the problem. After examining the broken flashlight, I discovered that the center gear had some teeth missing. I always thought I could fix it somehow, so I put it away for another day. Years later, I got my 3D printer and decided now was the perfect opportunity to fix the flashlight. I took precise measurements off the broken gear using a measuring tool, and then used the gear add-on in Blender to create a new gear that looked very close to the original one. The outer teeth turned out perfectly, but the inner teeth didn't quite come out right due to their small size. After making some adjustments, I finally managed to create a gear that worked smoothly after three attempts. I was thrilled to have successfully fixed it! A month later, another flashlight broke in the same way, and I simply retrieved the STL file from before and printed out a new gear. It was amazing how easily I could fix it. Print Settings: Printer Brand: FlashForge Printer: Creator Pro Rafts: No Supports: No Infill: 100% Notes: The small size of the teeth on the inner gear made it challenging to have them come out with the correct size due to the resolution of my printer/slicer combination. I simply made them larger and longer until what came out of the printer worked. How I Designed This: I used Blender's gear addon, which allowed me to get the necessary measurements off the damaged gear.