Hi guys, my team is fairly new and we were wondering how to build and calculate VEX gear ratios. We know the basics such as driven gear divided by driving equals the gear ratio and a lower gear ratio=more speed.
However, we only know how to calculate that for non compound gearing (two gears directly touching each other). How would we calculate for compound gearing?
How does compound gearing make flywheels spin faster?
Thanks!
Okay so it is actually pretty simple. Remember how a 60 tooth gear powering a wheel with a 12 tooth gear makes the wheel spin 5 times as fast?
Well if we have a 60 tooth power a 12 that is connected to another 60 powering a 12. Each one of them makes the next stage spin 5 times as fast for a total of 25*.
Here is a nice page with 2 pictures that really illustrate the phenomenon.
http://curriculum.vexrobotics.com/curriculum/mechanical-power-transmission/compound-gear-reduction
Just to clarify, normally lower gears means less speed and more torque. for example: the first and lowest gear in a car is the slowest and strongest. the higher the gear goes, the faster the output (wheels) of the car. gearing can be a hard concept to grasp, but after a year or two, it will become second nature.
hope that helps