This project starts with an understanding the purpose of gears and calculation of gear ratios. Using a simulation of Gear Generator, students will progress though solving ratios with two gear, idler gear, and compound gear arrangements. After gear ratios are mastered the lesson moves into a hand-on Cad program experience with Onshape or Tinkercad. Students will make their own working protype of a Gear Train. This can be 3d printed for an enrichment.
This video was taken by Ashley Fore to show the Gear Train working in Onshape. This is the beginning lesson to some more gear train experiences that are yet to come.
The following feedback came from a field tested practicioner:
Plus:
I am confident that I would have been able to draw everything based on what I saw. Nice job!
I like it a lot and I intend to draw this project soon and possibly use it in my Design & Mfg class.
Delta:
I would suggest some small adjustments to the orthographic view drawing. I was trying to imagine myself as a new person to ortho views and to OnShape when I was looking at the drawings. The drawings are very technical and therefore could be difficult to interpret for a lot of middle schoolers. I completely understood the drawings but they might now. I would suggest either shading the views and/or making the dimension arrows larger so that they “pop” off the page and are easier to interpret. I say this because I know the complaints that my own projects with ortho drawings have received.
