Instructables Write-Up (won 3 contests on Instructables)
ABOUT
I’d been interested in gear transmission for a while, and decided to play around with the idea using laser cut wood. My original inspiration came from this project on thingiverse. I found the spinning gears really calming to watch, and made a few for friends to keep them entertained at the hospital or when studying for exams.
SolidWorks was used (the gear generation add-on) to design involute gears before exporting to Adobe Illustrator for laser cutting. Because they were quck to design and easy to personalize, I ended up building my own gear trains and cutting out a few as early holiday gifts. My friends really liked the pleasing “clicking” sounds as the gears mesh with each each other so I decided to explore with more designs and share this tale: in which I make great toys to fiddle with.
Skills
Laser cutting, SolidWorks (gear generation and animation), Adobe Illustrator