Upcoming development season..

[ArtF]

Hi Guys:

"State of the Program Report"

  Well, the new version is online, the main gui video is updated and I have very few complaint s on any particula r function. All in all its working very well.

  We're a fairly small group of people, around 200-300 users I think, so developme nt can be steered in
direction s people want without much argument I think. Question is now what to focus on. Theres a few ways to go in terms of prioritie s.


Things done or to be done:

Gears of various types:

  Done and working fine. Ive seen many examples of things done by users, and have dozens of feedback comments on thier usefullne ss and meshing. I think other than bevels all types can be considere d as working fine. I suppose this is good as its the main reason for GM to exist. . More gear types could be added, Ive seen geneva mechanism s, turbo gears etc. suggested .

Timing pulleys:

  Again, many comments on their usefullne ss and they seem fine, but can only be cut in 2d. ( This is not possible to change except perhaps generatin g fly cutters for them, their curve types dont really allow for 4th axis, the math just doesnt work for that with any type of cutting bit.


Bevels:

  Bevels are done, but untested. I havent braved the new Gcode for them as yet, and I dont think anyone else has either. More a case of being problemat ic to setup and make blanks than anything else. That all has to be done pretty accuratel y as we've discovere d and as a result I doubt bevels will be cut much by users. More work can be done here, but I question the time dedicatio n to it vs the return in usefullne ss.

Cutting Tools:

  The flat bar type are done, and tested , they seem to work fine, but as some have found they arent very usefull for small gears, the tools just get too thin and are problemat ic on that basis.  It is possible to add flycutter s that woudl solve that issue somewhat, and I can look into that if desired.

Additions:

  Ive already discussed the possibili ty fo a "general solution" for gearing shapes. This would allow for some pretty strange looking gears. Not sure I can animate such gears, there are limits to how many rules one can have for animation and non-circulars push those limits, but it is possible I think to make allowance for making such gears.

   More timing pulley types. Ive had requests for GT3 or AT pulleys. Im willing to add most any pulley type or size, but specs are hard to come by, they are kept secret by makers for the most part, so let me know if you have or see data on timing pulleys we dont yet have. They lie alot when you find them online to ensure people dont make them themselve s..

  So I guess thats about where we are.. let me know or respond here with any other suggestio ns, if there isnt any wide agreement on a priority, Ill just then start doing what interests me personall y, and we'll see what comes out. , thats not necessari ly a bad thing either. As most of you who know me know, I tend to be intereste d in the cool or decorativ e, so I lean towards things like geneva mechanism s or escapemen ts, ( though for the life of me I cant imagine how I can make a gui to allow you to create various escapemen ts..).

 Thanks

Art


 

[Chuck]

Art,

While I do have an interest in bevels I understan d your prioritie s.


The next thing I think you should focus on is to allow spur, helical and worm gears with fine pitch for the modellers .   This would lead to using the tapered engraving tools and fly cutters.   

The ability to grind both endmills and fly cutters is the logical solution to small gears. A 2D grinding process with the grinding wheel position set below the cutting edge to provide clearance would be easy to do.  Just allow for a grinding wheel diameter and  X, Y or Z alignment . Of could cnc the full clearance but with the correct setup you wouldn't need to.

Formed tools would also allow faster gear cutting.  While productio n shops will likely invest in productio n gear cutting equipment there is a market between one off gears and short run productio n.   Other ways to speed up the process in metal gears?

And the list of things you could add never ends..... .

Chuck

[bosr]

I service and restore sewing machines which use both straight and helical bevels extensive ly.  Parts are becoming scarce and often times must be fabricate d.

So, I vote for the bevels.

I would also like to cast my vote for the fly cutter tool generatio n.

Maybe we can have a "build it yourself" section for tooling like thread milling cutters, Rack cutters, O-Ring groove cutters, special shaped form cutters, etc.?

How about a Lobed and Snail Cam designer.

Anyway, whatever you do... Have fun with it.

Thanks,

Randy

[Chuck]

Art,

Randy has an interesti ng idea.   If you build a profile design tool that would allow you to design just about any cutter profile on a large graph paper like screen.   This would be like an optical comparato r with a 20X or 50X magnifier .   You could also assist the designer with involute or other computed curves. 


Once designed the program could convert the profile into Gcode for one of several tool machining setups.

With a fly cutter tapered endmill or formed endmill and a 4 axis cutting Gcode program you could do a number of small gears from spur to helical and bevels.

You may want to add several types of worm/worm wheel designs to the wish list.

Chuck

[danmauch]

 Don't forget to add gear racks to the list.
Dan Mauch

Hi Guys:

"State of the Program Report"

  Well, the new version is online, the main gui video is updated and I have very few complaint s on any particula r function. All in all its working very well.

  We're a fairly small group of people, around 200-300 users I think, so developme nt can be steered in
direction s people want without much argument I think. Question is now what to focus on. Theres a few ways to go in terms of prioritie s.


Things done or to be done:

Gears of various types:

  Done and working fine. Ive seen many examples of things done by users, and have dozens of feedback comments on thier usefullne ss and meshing. I think other than bevels all types can be considere d as working fine. I suppose this is good as its the main reason for GM to exist. . More gear types could be added, Ive seen geneva mechanism s, turbo gears etc. suggested .

Timing pulleys:

  Again, many comments on their usefullne ss and they seem fine, but can only be cut in 2d. ( This is not possible to change except perhaps generatin g fly cutters for them, their curve types dont really allow for 4th axis, the math just doesnt work for that with any type of cutting bit.


Bevels:

  Bevels are done, but untested. I havent braved the new Gcode for them as yet, and I dont think anyone else has either. More a case of being problemat ic to setup and make blanks than anything else. That all has to be done pretty accuratel y as we've discovere d and as a result I doubt bevels will be cut much by users. More work can be done here, but I question the time dedicatio n to it vs the return in usefullne ss.

Cutting Tools:

  The flat bar type are done, and tested , they seem to work fine, but as some have found they arent very usefull for small gears, the tools just get too thin and are problemat ic on that basis.  It is possible to add flycutter s that woudl solve that issue somewhat, and I can look into that if desired.

Additions:

  Ive already discussed the possibili ty fo a "general solution" for gearing shapes. This would allow for some pretty strange looking gears. Not sure I can animate such gears, there are limits to how many rules one can have for animation and non-circulars push those limits, but it is possible I think to make allowance for making such gears.

   More timing pulley types. Ive had requests for GT3 or AT pulleys. Im willing to add most any pulley type or size, but specs are hard to come by, they are kept secret by makers for the most part, so let me know if you have or see data on timing pulleys we dont yet have. They lie alot when you find them online to ensure people dont make them themselve s..

  So I guess thats about where we are.. let me know or respond here with any other suggestio ns, if there isnt any wide agreement on a priority, Ill just then start doing what interests me personall y, and we'll see what comes out. , thats not necessari ly a bad thing either. As most of you who know me know, I tend to be intereste d in the cool or decorativ e, so I lean towards things like geneva mechanism s or escapemen ts, ( though for the life of me I cant imagine how I can make a gui to allow you to create various escapemen ts..).

 Thanks

Art


 

[dale gribble]

Hi, I posted about possible generatin g roots blower type gears

( http://gearotic.com/ESW/FavIcons/index.php?topic=450.msg2614#msg2614 )

Which did get positive responses . Just posting here in the hope it gets enough interest to be put on the to do list.

Regards

Dale

[BobL]

Hi Guys;

 Thanks to all in response to the progam report. All of these suggestio ns are great, I'm intereste d and vote for racks and gearing shapes, would be a great addon to GM...


Thanks
Bob

[Mooselake]

Copied from another post:

Tabs (you knew that was coming    )

Internal non-circular gears.

Lots more spoke types, including 3D.  Engine turned (Guilloché) partial depth patterns would be way cool, but maybe that's just me.

Clock escapemen t wheels (which might just be tweaks to ratchets).  Escapemen t pawls would be real nice, too...

Interrupt ed tooth gears (hope I named that right).

More laser and 3D printer stories.

Art's Universal Tooth Generator could make some of this much easier.  I've been reading old books about gears on Google Books.  Mangle gears look like fun.  Auto-reversers look useful.



I'd also vote for roots blowers (multi-lobe and housings), racks, and definitel y worms (for that future Mooselake Manor 4th axis).  Design your own teeth with a library and some preforms would cover timing belts, escapemen t wheels, wooden gear clock teeth with trimmed backsides, etc.  On the (even more) way-out-there list would be a tooth placement editor, which would cover interrupt ed tooth and even stranger gears - take standard or diy blank shapes, then define tooth placement on them by angles, count, or better ways I haven't thought of.

I'd like to try bevels from .stl's again, but after heekscad fixed their stl import they switched source repositor ies and redesigne d their make system, breaking it so it won't compile on my version of linux.  The joys of open source...

I have way too much downtime at work spent looking at youtube and old gear books...

How was your vacation, Art?  There's enough suggestio ns here already to make you need many more...

Kirk

[bosr]

Hi, I posted about possible generatin g roots blower type gears

I vote for this too.

[BobL]

Hi Guys;

  I also had a few requests off line for escapemen ts and racks in case they don't get posted here.

Cheers
Bob

[Dan]

I'd say finishing the tapered end mill machining or vote for every one of the above wonderful suggestio ns, but I can't keep up with the program's developme nt rate anyway, so I guess I'd be happy with whatever you decide

Actually I'd say being able to do pulleys on a 4th axis, but you said it wasn't going to happen.

Dan

[dale gribble]

Just seen these idea's posted and they get my vote.

Tabs (you knew that was coming    )

Internal non-circular gears.

Regards dale

[ArtF]

Hi Guys:

  Its nice to see all the suggestio ns.. LEt me touch on my general feeling at the moment.


1) Bevel Gears.

    The last iteration of bevels puts out code for making them on 4th axis with a tapered cutter thats tapered to the pressue angle. ( a 40 degree taper woudl be used for a 20PA bevel for example. ).

 That code is complete, but untested. Ill wait on bevels until someone, including myself, gets brave enough or has enough time to waste to try them out. Ive verified them graphical ly, but not on a real 4th axis.

2) Tapered machine tool OR fly cutters. Fly cutters wont be difficult, I can probably add that after I do an escapemen t. Taper requires a bit more work on my part to verify the math. ( Many idea's weve all had turn out ot be impossibl e mathwise, though you wouldnt think it at first glance..

3) Racks..

   Racks I think will follow cutters. This is because Id prefer they be part of the generalis ed toothing algorithm approach. IF a generalis ed toothing algorithm is possible, ( again that math verificat ion thing..), then applying such an algorithm to a straigh line makes a rack, to a circle makes a spur, and to an ellipse makes a elliptica l with proper pressure angle variation s, unlike the osculated circle elliptica ls we currently have. This is also true of internal non-circulars. In fact a generalis ed algorithm would make much of GM's current code obsolete, and could force a rewrite of various sections to take advantage of such a thing... IF its posssible .. This would also allow one to make an interrupt ed gear .. I would need a way for you to draw shapes though.

4)  Roots Blowers..

    I find these facinatin g as well, and I suspect I make get tempted to make them soon. But I wont promise that till Im closer to them. They do look pretty interesti ng..


5) 3d Printer stories.

   We are still working , albeit slowly on our 3d printer. At this moment, we're using a water filter as a holding vessle for water, a compresso r feeding it with up to 80psi, and a fuel injector from a buick ( we think..), to control the water flow via pwm in Mach3. (This uses Mach3's laser pwm control mode, rarely used by most.). The fuel injector works, varies its spray densisty according to motion speed of the head and we hope to run many more tests over the coming winter. Its out hope to "print" on a bed of concrete or qucik plug..som ething that has fast reaction to water to make 3d items out of concrete. . Ill post photos and experienc es as we go.

 
  SO basically, Im intereste d in doing almost all the current suggestio ns, but being the lazy bastard I am, I will attempt the ones that will hurt my head the least, or that stand a change of turning me obsessive which is how I usually get past challenge s to my manhood like "general toothing theory".
  We appreciat e all the suggestio ns though, all are considere d, and sometimes a new suggestio n will move to the head of the developme nt list, just because it piques my interest to that level. We'll probably have many iteration bs of "This is whats next" as things change, so keep suggestin g as you think of anything that you figure you need. Sometimes they take awhile as I cant figure out a way to do them,
but subsequen ct things allow other things to be done. ( A form cutter allows worm gears for example..)

Thanks as always,
Art

[Mooselake]

Art:

Here's a clock escapemen t in openSCAD that you might find interesti ng, plus it might scale up and print in concrete:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7822

If you're using Buick injectors you need a project to print the rest of a V6...

Kirk

[BobL]

Art;

but being the lazy bastard I am

 You mean " unthrifty with your time " do you not? lol