Planetary Gear Sphere /Hemisphere

Planetary gear carved into a spherical shape just for fun.

As the outer ring is rotated the planet gears will rotate and cause interesting cyclical variations of the shape - since the top and bottom of the planet gears are not flat the higher edges on top of the planets will jut out when rotated causing an interesting appearance, and can act like extendable legs when parking on a desk for display. Internal structure shown in the exploded views.

The herringbone aspect (where twist changes direction) is retained in the outer ring and other parts (sun and planets gears) so all the parts are fully captive (won't fall out). There is also a hemispherical version with flat bottom for easier/faster printing.


The original V6 version has a truncated flat base for easy and quicker printing without supports and less material used.


Update 19/08/23 : V7 full sphere version: (need to use supports for printing this version).

Check out my other designs: https://www.thingiverse.com/g