April 11, 2013
If you look for an amazing and fun to use desk toy to show off to your friends, you definitely should check out this 3D printed Steampunk geared cube.
It is a steampunk themed desk toy consisting of a cube with 28 gears which will rotate in a mesmorising manner by just rotating one of the gears. And it can even generate a smoother motion if you rotate 2 gears of the cube.
It is also a desk organizer too - in the middle of the cube is a tray that you can use to hold paperclips, eraser and other small things. The design also comes with a stand, as well as a lockable lid on the top of the cube. You can lock and unlock it by rotating the gears. Interchangeable mechanical add-ons may be designed in the future that can be put in place of this lid and driven by the rest of the cogs.
How it works - designer Maundy explains:
This design consists of a cube with 28 gears, on each of 4 sides of the cube are 7 gears: 2 large outer ones that move in opposite directions, the outermost gear has handles on it so it can be easily rotated, the motion between the 2 large cogs is reversed due to 5 smaller gears set within the cube in a similar layout to a planetary gearbox to reverse the gear's direction on each of these 4 faces. Each of these sets of gears on the 4 faces are all liked through the big gear on each of the 4 faces meshing at 90 degrees with the big gear on each of the 2 neighboring sides. This means that if any one gear is spun, they all spin in a memorizing pattern.
Best of all the piece is 3D printed as one piece. It is listed in Maundy's Shapeways store for €84.7, printed with White Strong & Flexible material by Shapeways. Check out the video below to see this 3D printed steampunk themed geared cube in action.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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