Mechathlon

Gear Resources

The Mechathlon kit also includes a gearbox suitable for use with any design of buggy.

The motor and gear box has a ratio of 1:40 because it uses a worm and wheel (cog), the worm has the equivalent of one tooth and the wheel has 40 teeth therefore the ratio of 1 to 40. This means that the output from the gearbox will by forty times slower than the output straight from the motor, but the power from the gear box will be forty times greater.

Every gear ratio gives a different output speed to the axle (see how to calculate this in the previous text on Pulley Drive Systems). You have the choice of high speed but low torque (i.e. little power), or slow speed but high torque (i.e. lots of power). You can experiment with this with the gearbox, before you attach it to your mechathlete, by getting it to lift weights by winding up a piece of string.

GEAR RATIO

When you use gears you can find the ratio of two gears by counting the number of teeth on each gear wheel and dividing the smaller into the larger.

In the example shown the large gear has 40 teeth and the small gear has 8 teeth.

The ratio of the two gears is 40/8 = 5:1.

Therefore the small gear has to turn 5 times for the large gear to turn once. It is the same principle as with the two pulleys. On your mechathlete the small gear would be attached to the motor and the large gear to the axle.

Structures, Pulleys, Motors, Batteries

What is the Mechathlon?

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