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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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Set 1 - Educational Cogbox
We have made our Set 1 educational cogbox since 1989. Set 1 is ideal for introducing a number of important principles relative to simple machines and gears. This educational tool is intended for 1st through 4th grade students. The primary goal of Set 1 is to give the student an appreciation of gears through play. The gears may be moved around on a triangular matrix board, 1000's of combinations being possible. As the student manipulates the gears a basic understanding of gears follows.
The gears are made from solid cherry and the base from laminated birch hardwood. The top of the gears have a tough lacquer 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 Set1 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.
| Set1 - Educational Cogbox |
Set 1 (Painted Maple Pegs) - Order #: Set1PM Price: $99.00
Set 1 with painted maple pegs. Packaged in a sturdy green box with gold lettering.
Set 1
(Natural Maple Pegs) - Order #: Set1NM Price: $99.00
Set 1 with natural maple pegs. Presented in a sturdy green box with gold lettering.
Set 1 (Solid Brass Pegs) - Order #: Set 1BR Price: $125.00
This version replaces the painted maple pegs with solid brass pegs. 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.