Playing with gears can be lots of fun. Making a driver to see those gears turn can add to the fun. I will show you how I made wooden gears and a driver from scrap parts.

Entered in theEPILOG CONTEST VII

If I won the contest I would use the laser cutter to make cool gear gifts for the kids in my community. Tinker toys are what will inspire little ones to become great inventors. Laser cut projects on my to-do list include:

Marble run with lights
Gear clock
Motorized Skateboard
Ballerina box
Doll house with sensors
& more!

Step 1: Designing the Gears

I used GearGenerator software to design a set of gears.

I set the diameters of both gears to 1cm.
Larger gear to 18 teeth
Small gear to 9 teeth
About 6.5 cm shaft spacing
After design was complete the gears were laser cut.

Total cut time 2-3 minutes using a Full Spectrum Laser Cutter

Step 2: Gear Base & Driver Base

Gear Base

After the gears were cut I needed a base to connect them. I used a piece of acrylic about 3x4 inches.

Other tools used include:

Dremel
Motor
Card stock
Glue
Case (earbud case)
Dowel 1cm, 1/16mm
Power supply

MAKING THE BASE

You'll need a base to keep the gears meshed.I carefully drilled two small holes into the acrylic and gradually expanded the diameter with larger drill bits until they were both 1cm.Next I inserted the dowels, 1 to 2 cm in length is good.The base was then complete.

Step 3: Driver Assembly

For the driver I used a motor that was salvaged from an old printer. I needed a casing for the motor to minimize damage to the wires and for stability. I had an empty ear bud case that made a perfect enclosure. I used a permanent marker to outline the diameter of the motor and a Dremel to cut it out. I sanded the cut out circle to smooth the jagged edges.An additional hole was drilled in the lid of the ear bud casing for the small gear to poke through. Foam craft shapes from the DollarTree were used to accommodate motor diameter spacing and minimize vibrating. I used card stock to give the motor casing a nice DIY mechanical look. Finally four small holes were drilled in the bottom of the plastic casing. Four 3 inch dowels were inserted in the holes turning the enclosure into a upright stand. This completed the design for the gear driver.