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Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

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Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#31

Post by lifeformed »

mhb wrote: post #29
lifeformed wrote: post #22

I've always wondered - Consider the following gear arrangement: http://snag.gy/Tvsgi.jpg The tiniest push on the gear on the left causes the gear on the right to fly at thousands of RPM. Of course, there would be a ton of friction in the system to overcome. However, what if the left gear was a pinion connected to a rack that was pushed by an extremely powerful, yet slow-moving source, such as a glacier or tectonic pl…

Of course it would "work". So would a lever - ask Archimedes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Archimedes_lever_(Small).j...

Well you would need an unrealistically long lever for that. With this gear thing, you could conceivably pack an extremely high gear ratio in a tiny area. I guess gears are just levers in a different form. I was just wondering what the limitations would be in this idea. I guess the construction of the gear system would have to be unrealistically high quality and strong.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#32

Post by reeses »

nicpottier wrote: post #7

Really enjoy the different take on the interface.. feel like you might be missing something in having modality though, seems like you could combine the actions for drawing a gear and drawing a belt, which would make it a bit neater. Any plans to add more complicated gear types? Would love to see something like this enabling easy explanations of watches and the like..

Hah, the first thing I did was build a going train. I had to use belts for the second, third, and fourth wheels because the planarity was difficult or impossible to manage.

It was of course more like an electronmechanical clock since there isn't a way to build a balancewheel and escapement, but since I had to eyeball the gear sizes and draw them with my mouse anyway, it now appears to be approximately 0:65:101am.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#33

Post by lifeformed »

ISL wrote: post #30
lifeformed wrote: post #22

I've always wondered - Consider the following gear arrangement: http://snag.gy/Tvsgi.jpg The tiniest push on the gear on the left causes the gear on the right to fly at thousands of RPM. Of course, there would be a ton of friction in the system to overcome. However, what if the left gear was a pinion connected to a rack that was pushed by an extremely powerful, yet slow-moving source, such as a glacier or tectonic pl…

Think about how large the forces will be at the first tooth interface at the left (or in the rack). How strong does that tooth need to be? Alternatively, you can use it the other way. Connect the gear at left to a tectonic plate. Rest your finger on the gear at right. Voila! You can exert a force great enough to stop the tectonic plate's motion. Plausible? When Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough, and a pla…

Good point. And even if the gears were made of unobtanium, the whole gearbox would have to be mounted on the opposite tectonic plate on top of breakable rocks.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#34

Post by ultimoo »

ISL wrote: post #30
lifeformed wrote: post #22

I've always wondered - Consider the following gear arrangement: http://snag.gy/Tvsgi.jpg The tiniest push on the gear on the left causes the gear on the right to fly at thousands of RPM. Of course, there would be a ton of friction in the system to overcome. However, what if the left gear was a pinion connected to a rack that was pushed by an extremely powerful, yet slow-moving source, such as a glacier or tectonic pl…

Think about how large the forces will be at the first tooth interface at the left (or in the rack). How strong does that tooth need to be? Alternatively, you can use it the other way. Connect the gear at left to a tectonic plate. Rest your finger on the gear at right. Voila! You can exert a force great enough to stop the tectonic plate's motion. Plausible? When Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough, and a pla…

"Alternatively, you can use it the other way. Connect the gear at left to a tectonic plate. Rest your finger on the gear at right. Voila! You can exert a force great enough to stop the tectonic plate's motion. Plausible?"

Nope, the question here would be whether the material used to construct the left gear withstand the force that a tectonic plate exerts given that the gear system will not allow it to move. I don't think the mechanics of the tectonic plate exerting force on our gear system and our gear system exerting force on the tectonic plate are symmetrical.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#35

Post by ultimoo »

lifeformed wrote: post #27
ultimoo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great arrangement! It will work. Whether it will be financially feasible to construct such a large system of gears, deploy it in extreme weather, keep it well oiled and maintain it, and then transport the generated power to a usable location are entirely different questions.

Hmm... maybe there are more common sources of strong-but-slow power. The heat expansion of bridges? The weight of vehicles sitting idly at a stoplight? The swaying of skyscrapers? I wonder if you could make a purely mechanical solar panel that way. Get a giant sheet of metal, put it out in the sun, and attach this gear arrangement to it, braced by opposite sides of the expansion. Hmm... I kinda want to make this now.

I think the heat expansion of bridges can be put to use to power an interesting gear system art installation at best :-)

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#36

Post by lifeformed »

ultimoo wrote: post #35
lifeformed wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm... maybe there are more common sources of strong-but-slow power. The heat expansion of bridges? The weight of vehicles sitting idly at a stoplight? The swaying of skyscrapers? I wonder if you could make a purely mechanical solar panel that way. Get a giant sheet of metal, put it out in the sun, and attach this gear arrangement to it, braced by opposite sides of the expansion. Hmm... I kinda want to make this now.

I think the heat expansion of bridges can be put to use to power an interesting gear system art installation at best :-)

Still worth it! I'm gonna try building that mechanical solar panel.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#37

Post by cespare »

lifeformed wrote: post #22

I've always wondered - Consider the following gear arrangement: http://snag.gy/Tvsgi.jpg The tiniest push on the gear on the left causes the gear on the right to fly at thousands of RPM. Of course, there would be a ton of friction in the system to overcome. However, what if the left gear was a pinion connected to a rack that was pushed by an extremely powerful, yet slow-moving source, such as a glacier or tectonic pl…

There's an art/science experiment piece on display at the Exploratium (unfortunately I can't remember what it's called) that has a similar construction. The gear at one end is turned at a steady pace by an electric motor, and each successive gear attenuates the motion until you get to the last gear, which is set into solid concrete (iirc). If it were free to move, it would take a fantastic span (billions or trillions of years?) to make a full rotation.

Edit: Thanks to bockris for pointing out the name. Turns out the last gear rotates once each 13.7 billion years.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#38

Post by bockris »

cespare wrote: post #37
lifeformed wrote: post #22

I've always wondered - Consider the following gear arrangement: http://snag.gy/Tvsgi.jpg The tiniest push on the gear on the left causes the gear on the right to fly at thousands of RPM. Of course, there would be a ton of friction in the system to overcome. However, what if the left gear was a pinion connected to a rack that was pushed by an extremely powerful, yet slow-moving source, such as a glacier or tectonic pl…

There's an art/science experiment piece on display at the Exploratium (unfortunately I can't remember what it's called) that has a similar construction. The gear at one end is turned at a steady pace by an electric motor, and each successive gear attenuates the motion until you get to the last gear, which is set into solid concrete (iirc). If it were free to move, it would take a fantastic span (billions or trillions…

One that I've seen in the past is: Machine with Concrete - Arthur Ganson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q-BH-tvxEg

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#39

Post by cespare »

bockris wrote: post #38
cespare wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an art/science experiment piece on display at the Exploratium (unfortunately I can't remember what it's called) that has a similar construction. The gear at one end is turned at a steady pace by an electric motor, and each successive gear attenuates the motion until you get to the last gear, which is set into solid concrete (iirc). If it were free to move, it would take a fantastic span (billions or trillions…

One that I've seen in the past is: Machine with Concrete - Arthur Ganson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q-BH-tvxEg

That's the one.

Re: Show HN: Sketch, connect and simulate gears and chains

#40

Post by kylebrown »

Cool! Something like this is the first thought I had when I saw the old book "507 Mechanical Movements in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing" on HN a few months ago[1].

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5660770

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