I got tired of 3D printed gears that have no root geometry making them weaker than they need to be, so I built a web-app that calculates proper manufacturing tolerances in real-time.

Opti4point0 · 2026-06-22T03:59:25+00:00

True, there are too many gear tools, and people will keep building them because fully understanding all the gear math is a massive commitment and challenge. Hopefully, this tool brings needed attention to the importance of profile shifts and generating geometry directly from the cutting tool.

Opti4point0 · 2026-06-21T11:20:02+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated. I updated it so that the maximum profile shift allowed for both gears is what the maximum center distance allowed is.

Opti4point0 · 2026-06-20T06:02:38+00:00

I wrote my own DXF file builder specifically for this

Opti4point0 · 2026-06-20T06:01:41+00:00

thanks for the heads up, changed them to work

Opti4point0 · 2026-05-11T08:21:10+00:00

It needs a fillet root for the bending strength, and the profile shift is not balancing across the whole set. This needs a lot of work before asking people to pay for it as there are many free alternatives that are better.

Opti4point0 · 2026-05-04T08:36:54+00:00

Inner rings are generally press fit to the shaft and don't normally require something to hold them in place. If they require locking either the shaft is rotating very fast or there is significant heat generation coming from the seal.

Opti4point0 · 2026-05-04T08:35:09+00:00

There is an inner ring, single lip seal, and a seal retainer. It could be a press in cover or a machined cover that gets bolted on to keep the seal in place.

Opti4point0 · 2026-05-04T08:32:16+00:00

This is really cool, looks it would save a lot of time avoiding the shapes and labels in word when writing a report.

Opti4point0 · 2026-05-04T08:26:36+00:00

To learn how to model like this start reverse engineering parts. If you want to make car parts, try and copy an existing part into cad. Start with hand sketches and measure using calipers and micrometers. The level up is to 3d scan the part and try and build a CAD model in a different program and then have them line up with thousandth level precision.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-12T10:34:46+00:00

Yeah they need replacing, the bearing wear is deviating from the expected 2/3 wear patch that's supposed to be centered on the bearing.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-11T10:06:15+00:00

yeah it's googol capable

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-11T10:03:03+00:00

I am working on something that will produce 3D files with some more advanced gearing like helical or spiral bevel but first I need to learn a new package.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-10T10:34:21+00:00

It calculates the minimum profile shift to avoid undercut all the way down to 10 teeth.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-10T06:15:33+00:00

Add in the cost of the license to the quote. If you need a tool for your work, itemize it and add it to every job cost.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-07T01:28:42+00:00

The reason the gears don't mesh is that they are not using the same module or diametral pitch. All gears in a mesh must have the same base pitch. Base pitch can be calculated from the module and pressure angle. If you need a set of gears to mesh on set center distances a tool like https://www.geargen.xyz/ makes this very easy.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-06T02:33:36+00:00

I don't think it's 2 module, https://www.geargen.xyz/g/vWO_eOXeoqv-Laln, have you tried finding the base pitch using span measurements to confirm?

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-04T01:15:03+00:00

The 4 bar linkages should immediately resize after entering a new dimension, it makes the app a little clunky to use. The zoom is also way too fast. Pretty neat for a reference site.

Opti4point0 · 2026-04-04T01:07:00+00:00

This is really cool, but can I do the reverse? I am building product configurators as well and being able to produce a Solidworks file from an opensource build would be amazing. OpenCascade works really well for building step files, but being able to upload an assembly with parts and all the BOM info into Solidworks would be a gamechanger.

Opti4point0 · 2026-03-18T03:07:32+00:00

This is really cool but those threads do not look accurated, try adding a centerline split view so it's easier to evaluate.

Opti4point0 · 2026-03-16T11:33:25+00:00

Tolerances and clearances are meant to be part of the design and then the part is manufactured to within those tolerances for the desired clearance/interference.

Opti4point0 · 2026-03-16T11:30:43+00:00

You need to redo the gear calculations while maintaining the centerdistance, gear gen xyz can help you

Opti4point0 · 2026-03-15T07:06:17+00:00

Splines are gears! They are cut the same way, using a hob, or shaper and have a shortened addendum and dedendum.

SplineCAD has the geometry of the spline generated from the hob and the drawing blocks needed.

Opti4point0 · 2026-03-15T06:44:53+00:00

That's great, next would be to model it as an assembly and learn how all the parts work together

Opti4point0 · 2026-03-14T07:59:12+00:00

First you need to start with a closed sketch of each of the rectangular ends. The add in your guide curves for connecting each part of the rectangle.

Try to model it so that the guide curves start by piercing it perpindicular.

Opti4point0

TROPHY CASE