Rings for non-circular gears of X order

[DJUltis]

Hi there,

I have been working on a project in which I will be creating sets of non-circular planetary gears of various orders. I am getting the sets geared fine, but am getting stalled at creating a ring for the outer boundaries of the planets to drive on. Either the sun gear or the ring will be fixed, so that when turning, the planets track on the ring.

I am new to the software, so that might be it, but I am struggling with a formula to generate a successful ring.

Thanks in advance for any advice and feedback.

-Dave

[ArtF]

Dave:

What kind of problem are you having?  Im not sure I understand exactly what the issue is..

Art

[JustinO]

Since you mention that either the sun or ring gear will be stationary, I would suggest that you also imagine the planetary gear's shaft to be stationary. That way you are using all your brain cells.

--Justin

[DJUltis]

I'm not having any particular issue with the software, I'm just new to it and haven't noodled around on it very much yet.

My question boils down to figuring out what order the outer ring is going to be, in order to fit the planets, and if there is a formula to be able to calculate that.

I made a couple successful versions, one of which was an Order 2 sun gear of 144 teeth, 4 planetary gears of the same order. A Sixth Order ring generated the right outline, verified by the proper tooth count (Zc = Za+2Zb) for the assembly to track inside if it correctly. I just haven't figured out why. 

So I'm getting positive results through trial and error, but I'd like to know if anyone has any pointers for calculating the right order for the outline of the  ring.

Justin, the sun is fixed, and all other gears are floating. the outer ring is constrained by a smooth wall. Do you know how to toggle a gear's shaft for being fixed, or lock a gear against rotation in Gearotic?

[ArtF]

Ahh, I understand I think.. and I think the only rule is the outter must be equal or greater in order.... I think a 1 will run in a 3 for eaxmple,
but a three cannot run in a one.. hmm, Ill have to think about that one... the trouble with non circulars, is that you quickly forget all the esoteric rules about them once you stop working on them. Each time I return to that code I have to reteach myself many things about them. :)

Art

[DJUltis]

Thanks Art,

You've got the idea of what I'm going for. I believe that there is a relationship between the number of planets and the order of the ring as well, though I just don't have enough experience yet to have seen that to be true. Taking notes...

So far having a lot of fun, thanks!

[ArtF]

Probably more a limitation based on the tooth count of the planets divided into the rings tooth count..