I needed to form an epicyclic pattern using gears, so I designed the structure so that the outer edge of the planetary gear was allowed to spin uninhibited.
That is, if I put a marker on the edge of the outer gear, I'd get a pattern like the one to the right.
At the time I didn't know what a planetary gear was, but the art teacher for whom I'm making this mechanism showed me an interesting orrery from The Netherlands, made entirely with wooden spoke gears. I ended up consolidating the ring gear into an arm that held the outer gear onto the center. The center gear is going to be held stationary, while a slow RPM motor with INSANE torque will be turning the arm, which spins the outer gear. Its going to be a simple, but hopefully really effective, design.
Can't wait to upload the pics of the finished product! It should be pretty cool.
WYWFBING,
DC
