sneakyimp
2010-09-17 18:53:03 UTC
I'm not a mechanical engineer. I'm working on a kinetic sculpture
that will connect a vertical-axis wind turbine to a drum mounted on a
lazy susan type platform (a board on a thrust bearing). I need to
couple the two with some gears -- spur, bevel, helical, whatever --
and I need the wind turbine to turn about 30 times for each turn of
the rotating drum.
I've looked everywhere for gears online and have found gears that are
very expensive and industrially machined which are overkill for my
project. I've also found small assorted gear packages that seem to
light and too small to incorporate into a project built mostly from
wood, screws, and nails. These packs of assorted plastic gears also
seem to lack the proper shafting, hubs, and couplings in order to get
everything to connect.
I was hoping someone might recommend a place where I might obtain some
gears for this project. Minimally, all I need is two gears (with
100-1 tooth ratio) that I can screw directly onto the pieces of wood.
Obviously, really small gears would require extremely precise
placement of my wood components so bigger gears are desirable.
Assorted plastic gears with appropriate shafting and connector hubs
would also be acceptable. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I
could really use some standardized gears and shafting that I can
connect without the need for a machine shop. Ideally I wouldn't need
all kinds of shaft couplings and shaft collars and stuff.
that will connect a vertical-axis wind turbine to a drum mounted on a
lazy susan type platform (a board on a thrust bearing). I need to
couple the two with some gears -- spur, bevel, helical, whatever --
and I need the wind turbine to turn about 30 times for each turn of
the rotating drum.
I've looked everywhere for gears online and have found gears that are
very expensive and industrially machined which are overkill for my
project. I've also found small assorted gear packages that seem to
light and too small to incorporate into a project built mostly from
wood, screws, and nails. These packs of assorted plastic gears also
seem to lack the proper shafting, hubs, and couplings in order to get
everything to connect.
I was hoping someone might recommend a place where I might obtain some
gears for this project. Minimally, all I need is two gears (with
100-1 tooth ratio) that I can screw directly onto the pieces of wood.
Obviously, really small gears would require extremely precise
placement of my wood components so bigger gears are desirable.
Assorted plastic gears with appropriate shafting and connector hubs
would also be acceptable. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I
could really use some standardized gears and shafting that I can
connect without the need for a machine shop. Ideally I wouldn't need
all kinds of shaft couplings and shaft collars and stuff.