Let’s face it, planetary gears are cool. They are used in all kinds of mechanisms, including transmissions, motors, and turbines. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to use Mathcad to build a worksheet that calculates the gear ratios and output speeds of a planetary gear under different configurations.
The math behind the gear ratios is straightforward. But users should be able to select:
The sun or planet carrier as the input;
The planet carrier or ring as the output; and,
The ring, sun, or planet carrier as the stationary component.
How can the user select the desired component? How can you add intelligence to the worksheet to prevent an incorrect combination of input, output, and stationary?
What inputs do you want for your calculator? You will have to make some choices. Your choices could include:
Number of planets
Number of teeth
Component diameters
Module / pitch
Tools that you might consider include Combo boxes, programs, and functions involving strings.
Here are some technical references to get you started:
KHK Gears
Instructables
How Stuff Works
Once again, this is a great project for students to work on in teams. Make the worksheet as simple or as complicated as you want. Others can build on your work, and you can build on others. Let’s see what the community can create! Good luck!
Find the Mathcad Community Challenge Guidelines here!
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