Constraining Gears

[DIXON]

Hi Folks,
I have to assemble a few Module 2 spur gears, what is the best method of achieving this ? They would need to be constrained as if they were "in mesh ". I can't think of an accurate way of achieving this.

Cheers.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Hi Folks,
I have to assemble a few Module 2 spur gears, what is the best method of achieving this ? They would need to be constrained as if they were "in mesh ". I can't think of an accurate way of achieving this.

Dixon -- There is no way to "properly" Constrain" Spur-gears in Alibre. (1) We need a "Ratio-of-Rotation" Constraint for this (and other) designs to be properly modeled. (2) My current "work-around" is to create a "Pitch Diameter Disk" for each Spur Gear and Hide It once I have used it to create the "Radial Constraint" and then set Equation Editor variable values for the "relative angles" (recognizing that both be limited to the range of -360° to +360°). You have to (appropriately) change the "Driving Angle" to get your "rotation." (3) Yes I have been "complaining" about this since 2009.

 

[idslk]

Hello Dixon,

do you want some motion for the gears or only the right positioning?
May you look here: "Older Threads with gears"

Regards
Stefan

 

[DIXON]

Hi,Lew and Stefan
No, I don't require motion only to assemble them "in mesh " Will do as suggested for the work around. Really for an MCAD application it should be a basic function to be able to constrain gears properly. but alas it is what it is and we have to make the best of it !!
Many thanks for the help.
Cheers

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Hi,Lew and Stefan
No, I don't require motion only to assemble them "in mesh " Will do as suggested for the work around. Really for an MCAD application it should be a basic function to be able to constrain gears properly. but alas it is what it is and we have to make the best of it !!
Many thanks for the help.

Hi Dixon -- The "issue" with creating a "Pitch Diameter Disk" within a "Spur Gear" is that it ("they") will need to be "Hidden" when it comes time for a Drawing. This is why I create an "Invisible" layer in all my Drawings. It can be somewhat of a PITA to make all their Arc Entities disappear, nu it works. If your Spur Gear has a defomnable "Tooth" or "Gullet" located on a specific Axis, then setting up their "Angular Meshing" is nigh unto trivial.