Steampunk Gear

thingiverse

Gears are steampunk icons. They have been a part of the steampunk movement's identity for years, inspiring creators to develop intricate and imaginative designs. Without knowing exactly where to start, I sought guidance from various classmates and my teacher. We began with a simple approach: a flat extrude served as the foundation. A hole was then added at the bottom layer and extruded upward, forming a ring roughly 0.5cm wide. The center axle followed suit, created on a separate sketch. One arm branched off from the center axle; drawing only half of it proved sufficient. By mirroring the first half, I achieved symmetry. Additional arms were added to complete the design. The initial vision for the teeth was drastically different: tall and rounded shapes had been envisioned. However, my teacher suggested trying an alternative approach. It ultimately led to the project's finished state. Time spent perfecting the arm extrusions so they fit snugly onto the axle brought forth a new challenge: multiple teeth proved difficult to achieve. The first attempt produced thin, slice-like protrusions, akin to those found on pizza dough. But upon reconsideration, I closed off the structure using an arc, resulting in functional gears instead of flat pieces. The final touches included adding a fillet center axle at the last minute. With 3in in diameter being the overall measurement, my creation ended up exceeding expectations.