This is a Beveled gear system but with Sprockets it works really well it didn’t slip and you could use it at any angle.
Please write down your thoughts and questions below.
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looks like an incredibly high amount of friction
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Would it be possible to make it with smaller sprockets?
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It’s really not that bad it’s surprisingly very little friction
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Yes I believe any size would work
I think @Xenon27 meant the friction and resistance between the teeth, not the point at which each sprocket rotates at relative to the c-channel it’s mounted to. Gears are made in a very particular way to have the most optimal energy transfer with minimal energy loss. Things like pitch, angle, and teeth frequency all factor into it. The angle at which the teeth on these sprocket mesh at is practically perpendicular and not the ideal 45° angle of a bevel gear.
I don’t have a degree in mechanical engineering so I can’t explain the specifics of why this won’t be very efficient, BUT I think it’s a good idea in theory given the limitations of Vex parts. Personally, I’d only use this if the load it bears is minimal, otherwise I don’t see it being very viable for something like an intake for fielding. I’m sure you can find other uses for it though.
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I agree with xenon, there appears to be far too much friction here for this to be better than something like crown gears.
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I get why why people are concerned about friction but has anyone tested it with an optical shaft encoder to see the actual friction loses.
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the fact that it doesn’t appear to be able to free-spin at all, means it’s going to have enormous energy losses
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He doesn’t actually let go of the sprocket through the whole video unless you made it in real life then I’m still a little skeptic of whether it has friction loses or not.
Edit: nvm he does let go of it But he’s also not spinning it very fast and even normal gears don’t free spin long with similar speeds
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Try running it with a motor and see if both sprockets can run at the same rpm. From what i can see in the video the friction seems to be pretty significant that it doesn’t free spin, which makes it inefficient during normal circumstances
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I’ve tested this before. It’s not a good way to transfer power. There are far better ways lol
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do the sprockets still make good contact when they are perfectly vertical to each other? in your video the gusset doesn’t look like it’s 90 degrees
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maybe it’s time to make some custom polycarb bevel gears
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I might make some in cad in a couple days if I feel like it but I don’t know the practicality of it since Vex already makes bevel gears and there are plenty of effective ways that wouldn’t use polycarbonate.
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Vex bevel gears are not the greatest (or so I’ve heard. I’m buying some soon just to see for myself) but yeah I agree there are way better methods than using lexan sheets lol… that’s probably one of the worst ways to do it
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Lexan sheets are actually surprisingly decent if they were made into gears. I have made lexan gears from a water jet and they were pretty efficient, however they wear out after 2 hours of run time
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It is not free spinning because it is pivoting on screws that are not lose.
It may not be at 90 but they have best contact at 90 they do b
Not slip at all as long as you have a well built angle that will not bend.
That should allow it to free spin better than on a shaft joint if built correctly.
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