Cam gear GIF

**Jon** · Dec 22, 2015, 12:24 AM

GIF of old cam gears, possibly powering a pump.

This gear shape is useful for altering speed or torque in the middle of the gear cycle, but there are more modern options to accomplish this same goal.

Not exactly sure why, but the non-circular shape of these gears makes this a particularly satisfying mechanical GIF.

**C-Bag** · Dec 22, 2015, 09:37 AM

That is cool Jon. Have you seen this? 507 Mechanical Movements

I can't remember how I found that, but it's fascinating to look through. It's also crazy to think the book was made in like 1865 or there about. The movements are from all kinda machines like watches and cotton gins. The people who put up the site are slowly but surely animating the drawings. Some of them are so convoluted I can't wait to see how they work when animated. I seem to remember annotations about them fixing mistakes.

**Jon** · Dec 22, 2015, 01:53 PM

Very interesting, good one. This stuff fascinates me to no end, and wastes a good chunk of my time!

This one is functionally similar to the cam gears: 507 Mechanical Movements, 38

**C-Bag** · Dec 22, 2015, 02:17 PM

yup, or to me more like:

507 Mechanical Movements, 33

I don't think looking through this stuff is any more of a waste of time than anything else we do here

For me it's a great source of inspiration and often helps solve some problem I've gotten myself into.

**Jon** · Dec 22, 2015, 02:44 PM

Yep, that one is even more accurate.

Once, twice, maybe even three times is a reasonable use of time. Last night it took me four hours to wrap gifts because of that cam gear gif!

This one too is troublesome for me:

**kbalch** · Dec 22, 2015, 04:24 PM

Gears and log splitter gifs are both completely mesmerizing - and I haven't even begun wrapping presents.

Ken

**DIYer** · Dec 28, 2015, 08:51 PM

Haven't seen cam gears like that before. Fascinating!

**C-Bag** · Dec 30, 2015, 08:22 AM

The next question for me is where is that and what does it do? I'm not sure but is this on a ship? And why is there what looks like a bed or exam table in th background? Is it a gym? And it's totally crazy this unit is not completely covered with a guard. Talk about dangerous!

**kbalch** · Dec 30, 2015, 08:51 AM

The 'Battleship Gray' is certainly suggestive of a naval environment. With the edges of the gears painted red like that, I'm guessing that it's some sort of cutaway or exposed (normally covered) mechanism for display purposes.

Ken

**ncollar** · Sep 20, 2017, 08:17 PM

Cam Gears
This is very interesting but the practical use of it would be in question. A cam and a cam follower would be more like to be used. Consider the wear on the gears as they move what ever the rods are connected to. It is amazing how the gear was made as a casting, I wonder just how they cleaned the casting up. Milling would be a nightmare, that poor machinist!