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Gear Talk Gears are used in tons of mechanical devices. They do several important jobs, but most important, they provide a gear reduction in motorized equipment. This is key because, often, a small motor spinning very fast can provide enough power for a device, but not enough torque. For instance, an electric screwdriver has a very large gear reduction because it needs lots of torque to turn screws, but the motor only produces a small amount of torque at a high speed. With a gear reduction, the output speed can be reduced while the torque is increased. _________________________ Another thing gears do is adjust the direction of rotation. For instance, in the differential between the rear wheels of your car, the power is transmitted by a shaft that runs down the center of the car, and the differential has to turn that power 90 degrees to apply it to the wheels. _________________________ You see gears in just about everything that has spinning parts. Car engines and transmissions contain lots of gears. If you ever open up a VCR and look inside, you will see it is full of gears. Wind-up, grandfather and pendulum clocks contain plenty of gears, especially if they have bells or chimes. You probably have a power meter on the side of your house, and if it has a see-through cover you can see that it contains 10 or 15 gears. Gears are everywhere where there are engines and motors producing rotational motion _________________________ Most gears that you see in real life have teeth. The teeth have three advantages:
_________________________ Have you ever looked inside a grandfather clock or a small mechanical alarm clock, seen all the gears and springs and thought, "Wow -- that's complicated!"? While clocks normally are fairly complicated, they do not have to be confusing or mysterious. In fact, as you learn how a clock works, you can see how clock designers faced and solved a number of interesting problems to create accurate timekeeping devices. In our different cogboxes you get to experiment with gears and levers, in the Advanced Cogbox you get to build and experiment with a wooden works clock.
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Educational Cogboxes
As well as making some of the finest wooden works clocks, we strive to make the finest educational gears and children's science exhibits. We made our first educational cogbox in 1989 and have made many since. In addition to the Elementary Cogbox range (Grades 1-4) we have the newer Intermediate Cogbox (Grades 5-10) which can aid in the teaching of gears, levers and machines. The board is much larger, 36" by 24", with many high quality gears, levers and indicators, many high gear ratio's can be created. The Advanced Cogbox (Grades 8-12) aids in the education of advanced gearing, mechanics, pendulums and governors, and the latest 'PIC' controllers. The science in the advanced cogbox is centered around all the mechanical features in a clock movement. Experiments can be performed on individual parts as well as the complete 'machine'. Instrumentation includes a precision timer to perform advanced experiments in pendulum characteristics.
Fully illustrated activity and laboratory guides are available for all the Cogbox range.
Elementary Cogbox Range (Grade 1-4)
Elementary Cogbox (Painted Maple Pegs) - Order #: EC12-PM Price: $99.00
The Elementary Cogbox is intended as a foundation learning tool for teaching a number of important principles about mechanical science. This educational tool is intended for 1st through 4th grade students. The primary goal of this Cogbox is to give the student an appreciation of gears through play. The gears are made from solid cherry and the base from laminated birch hardwood. The top of the gears have a tough laquer finish while the sliding surfaces are finished in a non-toxic low friction mineral oil. The base may be rejuvenated after years of service by just rubbing with 220 grit paper and reapplying food grade mineral oil. The EC-12 size is 15" by 11". The wooden axle pegs are not attached to the gears allowing further use of the board by just using the pegs. Presented in a sturdy green box with gold lettering. An instruction sheet is included and an activity guide is also available. See accessories below.
A larger size is available the EC-24, which is 20" by 20' and has twice as many gears. The larger size is only available with solid brass pegs. All brass pegs are fastened to the gear via a clip.
Elementary Cogbox (NaturalMaple Pegs) - Order #: EC12-NM Price: $99.00
Elementary Cogbox with natural maple pegs. Presented in a sturdy green box with gold lettering.
Elementary Cogbox (Solid Brass Pegs) - Order #: EC12-SB Price: $125.00
This version replaces the painted maple pegs with solid brass pegs. The brass pegs are also retained in the Cherry gears by a clip in the back of the cog. This version takes the toughest abuse and is preferred by teachers who prefer less loose parts. Presented in a sturdy green box with gold lettering.
Elementary Cogbox (Solid Brass Pegs) - Order #: EC24-SB Price: $245.00
The EC24-SB is the largest
Elementary Cogbox at 20" by 20". The base is 1" thick laminated
birch hardwood with 24 solid cherry gears. The brass pegs are
retained in the Cherry gears by a clip in the back of the cog.
Two of the gears have cranks enabling students to work as a team.
Elementary Cogbox Range - Accessories
Accessories available for the Elementary Cogbox range are listed below.
Please check back as we add more to the website
Intermediate Cogbox (Grade 5-10)
Please check back as we add more to the website
Advanced Cogbox (Grade 8-12)
Please check back as we add more to the website