The Gear Mesh

Use this printable spur gear template and gear rack template to determine the pitch (or module) and pressure angle of your unknown gear

Nearly every shaft diameter has a corresponding standard keyway width and depth – this calculator helps you find it. While a designer is free to specify any keyway they wish, straying from the standard option is likely to increase the cost, time, and complexity of the part. Many keyways are milled directly into a shaft or broached into the corresponding bored holes.

Nearly every shaft diameter has a corresponding standard keyway width and depth – this calculator helps you find it. While a designer is free to specify any keyway they wish, straying from the standard option is likely to increase the cost, time, and complexity of the part. Many keyways are milled directly into a shaft or broached into the corresponding bored holes.

Gears don’t slide, they roll. If you mesh two gears together and rotate one, the two contacting surfaces will roll, and not slide-off of each other. The difference may seem semantic but it has a huge impact on the life and performance of the gear, and it all comes down to friction.

The name "Hydraulic Oil" is somewhat of a misnomer as the root of the word hydraulic, "hydro," means water. While water was the original hydraulic fluid, any fluid that conveys power may be considered a hydraulic fluid. 

Anything that moves has friction and wear: your car, your bike, and the machines in your shop. Tribologists study the interaction of sliding surfaces specifically in friction, wear, and lubrication. Tribology has established the principles and designed the oils that keep our mechanical world moving

CAD and machine tools have been rapidly increasing in capability and decreasing in cost, so the ability to mill, route and 3D-print gears is in reach to a larger audience. So how do I get started? Here are some simple answers:

5000 years of mechanical innovation and progress - researched, documented, and compiled to highlights the pioneers that made the largest contributions. Our modern world is standing on the shoulders of inventors dating back thousands of years, and it all starts with gears.

Here is a guide on How to Use a Dividing Head, along with the necessary dividing head indexing charts (pdf). Dividing heads (also called indexing heads) are machine tools used to provide controlled and repeatable rotation to a tool or workpiece, usually as an accessory to a milling machine, lathe, or grinder.

Screws are defined by three measurements: diameter, pitch, and length. Measure the diameter across the threads and the length from underneath the head of the screws (unless it's a flat-head, then measure the whole length of the screw.) For the pitch, mark out 1 inch of threads and count the number of threads in that length.