Making a "Planetary Gear Set" using a 3D printer and PLA material

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the design and functionality of a planetary gear set created using a 3D printer and PLA material. Participants explore the conditions necessary for achieving a 1:1 gear ratio between the sun gear and the ring gear, as well as the implications of gear sizes and teeth counts on the system's operation.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes that for a functional planetary gear with a 1:1 gear ratio, the equation C + 2P = S + 2P must hold, where C is the number of teeth on the ring gear, S is the number of teeth on the sun gear, and P is the number of teeth on each planet gear.
  • Another participant questions the feasibility of achieving a 1:1 gear ratio, suggesting that it may not be possible for one turn of the ring to coincide with one turn of the sun, but acknowledges that having the same number of teeth could be a condition for this.
  • A different participant states that to keep the planet gears stationary, the tangential speeds of the sun and ring must be equal and opposite, implying that equal angular speeds would require the planets to be of size zero.
  • One participant expresses a belief that the ring can turn once at the same time as the sun in opposite directions, contingent on the ring and sun having the same number of teeth, while also noting that the diameter of the ring must be sufficient to accommodate the sun and planets.
  • Another participant concurs that it won't be possible for certain sizes, reinforcing the idea that feasible gear sizes may limit the design's functionality.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility of achieving a 1:1 gear ratio and the implications of gear sizes. There is no consensus on whether the proposed conditions can be met in practical applications.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include unresolved mathematical steps regarding the relationship between gear sizes and teeth counts, as well as assumptions about the physical constraints of the gear design.

Joorge
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TL;DR
Obtaining the same speed in the sun and ring gears, while moving in opposite directions in a planetary gear set.
I want to create a set of planetary gears using a 3D printer and PLA material. I'm designing them with the help of Autodesk Inventor 2020 since my knowledge in this area is quite limited. The gear set consists of a ring gear, a sun gear, and 2 planet gears. The sun and the ring gear rotate in opposite directions, while the planet gears remain stationary. I need the rotation speed of the sun and the ring gear to be the same. I mean, one turn of the ring coincides with one turn of the sun, if that's possible, which honestly I have no idea.

I asked ChatGPT, and it tells me the following:

"The basic condition for a functional planetary gear with a 1:1 gear ratio is that the sum of the number of teeth on the ring gear plus twice the number of teeth on the planet gears is equal to the sum of the number of teeth on the sun gear plus twice the number of teeth on the planet gears. Mathematically, this is expressed as:

C + 2P = S + 2P

Where:
C = Number of teeth on the ring gear
S = Number of teeth on the sun gear
P = Number of teeth on each planet gear

This means that the total number of teeth on the ring gear and planet gears must be equal to the total number of teeth on the sun gear and planet gears. By satisfying this equality, the gear ratio will be 1:1, allowing the ring gear and the sun gear to rotate at the same speed and in opposite directions."

Is this true? I'm not sure I can fully trust the AI on this matter, because it gave me a lot of wrong answers before I got to this text, which does seem coherent to me.

Thank you and regards.
 
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Indeed, I'm asking again and it's telling me the last answer I've posted is wrong. I'd appreciate if you can tell me the "truth", LOL. It may not be possible for one turn of the ring to coincide with one turn of the sun, but I guess is right, as long as the ring and the sun have the same amount of teeth. Please let me know.
 
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To keep the planets stationary the tangential speeds of sun and ring need to be equal but opposite. If you want their angular speeds to be equal and opposite too, their radii would have to be equal, so the planets would need to be of size zero.
 
Thanks for your answer. Honestly, I don't know that much about tangential and angular speeds. What I need is the ring to turn once at the same time as the sun does, but in opposite directions, hence the planetary set. I understand this is possible as long as the ring and the sun have the same number of teeth, and the problem will be the diameter of the ring to be big enough to hold the sun and planets. It won't be possible for certain sizes. Do you think I'm right?
 
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Joorge said:
It won't be possible for certain sizes. Do you think I'm right?
See my post above. It won't be possible for any feasible gear size.
 

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