Gear Depther

A gear depther allows you to set the distance between two gears in order to find the proper spacing of the axles which allow the gears to spin freely. I created this simple depther in order to verify the depth of some 3d printed gears I was making.

To assemble the device as it is uploaded, you need two M5 screws, two M5 nuts, and three 2mm pins at least 50mm in length. (You can adjust the OpenSCAD file for different size nuts or pins if you wish.) You also need a rubber band.

Once the two parts are printed, insert the 2mm pins into the hinge and gear holders. Wrap a rubber band (to keep tension on the mechanism to keep the entire thing closed), then use the screws to open the gap until the gears just mesh.