gear thickness
 

If gear will be made by a gear manufacturer, is it limited to 1/4 inch thinck steel?

thanx
469

Sprockets, gears, and pulleys can be any size, as listed in the Additional Hardware List

If you are going to make a CUSTOM gear from legal kit material, then you are often limited to 1/4 inch face widths because 1/4 inch plate is unlimited on the Additional Hardware List.

If you are buying off-the-shelf gears, then you can buy whatever facewidth you can find off-the-shelf.

If you need to make a custom gear AND you want a facewidth greater than 1/4, you can perhaps buy thicker plate stock or even bar stock from Small Parts and use that to have your gears cut.

Joe J.

The way I read it, the any size - any number only applies to off the shelf gears. If you are going to make your own, they must be from materials on the additional hardware list (1/4" steel), or buy the material from Small Parts (I believe they carry steel > 1/4").

Limit on Gears ?
 

Joe,

I respectfully disagree.


Gears, Sprockes, and Pulleys are from any source and any amount. Why can't my machine shop be a source of gears just like Pic-Design or any othe gear manufacturer ?

Additional Hardware must be off the shelf
 

Sorry Ed, but have a look at rule K3.

"Items listed in the Additional Hardware List must be "commercially available," strictly off-the-shelf only. No custom or special orders."

So custom made gears must be made out of materials that fit the specs of other Additional Hardware parts, or material from Small Parts.

Rule K3...
 

Am I being too literal here?

Joe J.

Hmmm,

But a 32 pitch 40 thooth 20 degree PA gear IS commercially available. If I make one, so what?

I see it as a splitting hairs thing. Am I really that far off in my thinking?

Maybe, I should have been a lawyer .....

This way lies madness...
 

If the standard is that I COULD have made this legally from legal kit materials rather that I DID make this legally from legal kit materials, I think we have lost something.

Am I going to loose any sleep over a custom made gear or two? No.

But, I still have to call 'em the way I see 'em.

Joe J.

YOUR BOTH WRONG!

There settled that one, if you ask to me explain why then your even more wrong than before!

MUAHAHAH ok im tired....

Wide Face Gears
 

Five of the last six years we used wide face gears. We used .750 square stock from SPI and hot rolled it and welded it into a ring and then welded it to a .250 thick web plate from SPI. I would hate to think we were being foolish.

Speaking of gears, the FP motor and gearbox IS different this year. We hadn't noticed it until we saw the post. The gear mod we have used in the past will not work, nor does it appear to be necessary. Two more 20,000 RPM motors! I can hear Joe and Andy drooling clear down here in NW Indiana!