Gears anyone?

[harley4ever]

Some people must not actually read the thread.

I think he wrote in english that he was not looking for another program and that he wanted to get the dolphin gear generator to work. Also, I believe someone at dolphin is looking over his issue right now. Hopefully we'll find out the resolution.

Maybe I am mistaken.

[lsalme]

Some people must not actually read the thread.

I think he wrote in english that he was not looking for another program and that he wanted to get the dolphin gear generator to work. Also, I believe someone at dolphin is looking over his issue right now. Hopefully we'll find out the resolution.

Maybe I am mistaken.

Maybe so as this thread started out with 2bits stating,
"I been trying to figure out how to create some simple plastic gears using my 3 axis cnc, but unable to find anything that could create the drawing without alot of painstaking work." Inkscape is very popular, free and can create gear profiles.

[2Bits]

Yes, I was looking for something and stumbled onto the Involute software integrated within Dolphin (I actually found gears.exe first). Because it doesn't seem to be well documented nor any tutorials at the time on it, I wasn't aware of it. I am willing to let Dolphin look at my files and figure out why I was able to create one very easily and having difficulty with simply a larger diameter.

I'm only looking to create some basic plastic spur gears and having the package integrated into Dolphin is conviente, if it doesn't work out, I will look into Inkscape, but I think Dolphin deserves a crack at solving the issue. Like I said, it did work for the first one, though I can't seem to get the script file version to behave as expected.

Mark

[cncjunky]

Sorry, they are not made by the same people. Bad information to be giving out, and the way of doing things is very different between the two.

Ok, my fault, it's rhino cam that is made by the same people as bobcad, right? Some one in this forum said something about the pitch and so forth that you can enter in to your demensions all the features on the gear making sounds exactly like bobcad v22. As for the rest of the program I have no clue. And the way of doing things may be different but is the outcome any different? I don't know I've never used the program, but is it better then v22?

[andre-dolphin]

I traced the problem to the DXF export from the Involute gear module.

Advised that the best solution is to use the .vbs export option. This was done and the output works fine in Mach.

There was actually a problem with both files generated but this was not immediatley obvious in Mach - rotating the view showed the problem.

Sorry - I forgot to keep the group updated with progress.

Andre

[2Bits]

I will try creating/cutting the gear tonight. I want to also mention that Andre mentioned the following:

Create a .vbs file of the gear profile.

Start the CAD systems and set the units to Millimeters.

Activate the .vbs file

Switch the units to INCH

Save the drawing and invoke the CAM system

[2Bits]

Andre's resolution worked flawlessly. It's much easier using the .vbs file.

The trick is just flipping from inches to millimeters and back again.

Loaded the file into Mach3 and it cut like a champ and I ended up with a very nice spur gear. Was hoping to take a picture and post it, but my daughter drained the batteries in the camera. I'll post one, once I can grab some new ones.

Mark

[harley4ever]

Very good to hear. I was quite confident there was a solution. I havent used the gear program but may in the future. Hope to see pics soon.

[2Bits]

As promised, pic of a couple of gears I cranked out.

.6 pitch circle diameter and 1.75

[harley4ever]

Looks like they came out very nice.

[japcas]

Hey 2bits, those look real nice. What size cutter did you use to make those with and how long did it take to cut them?

[2Bits]

Thanks!

I used a 1mm bit and it took about 20-25 minutes each. With such a small bit and the material is .234 thick, I made 6 passes. I was too worried about the time it took. Cheaper than replacing bits and I'm still a newbie at this as to how hard I can push it.