Gears

3D printed herringbone rack and pinion

Challenges

Compatibility with existing gear and sprocket families:

• Meccano/Erector/Vex
• LEGO Technic
• Bicycle

Approaches

Laser Cutter

• gear fabrication on a laser Cutter is Common, works well.

3D Printing

• Precision and Tolerance

CNC mill/router

• Sherline examples
• Taig Mill examples
• Bridgeport examples

Hybrid

Hybrid fabrication; RepRapping and then precise tidying of each layer with a milling/routing head is the most promising.

• Direct: We can make the plastic gear directly
• Mold: We can make the molds for filled epoxy gears. See HandmadeGears.

Hobbing

• Timothy Edward's build of a Meccano Gear Making Machine, technically a gear hobber:

File:Timothy Edward Gear Hobber.jpg

via http://edwards.web.users.btopenworld.com/meccano/modelgear.htm

Wire EDM

Main page: ElectrochemicalPrintedCircuitBoardHead#electric discharge machining

• Forrest Higgs proposed this once.

Casting/Mouldmaking

• We can make molds for Filled epoxy