08-26-2017, 04:26 AM
I'm not 100% sure what this plastic is, so think I will give it a miss. Probably no point putting the effort into an unknown material that's may fail.
My local metal supplier usually has a bunch of different size flame cut steel circles leftover from where they've cut holes out of plate for custom jobs. If they've got some that are thick enough they'll be a cheap source of steel stock.
Vinny - I hadn't considered a hob as I thought they needed the gear blank to be rotated at a specific speed to match the hob. If that's right it would be out of my capabilities and tooling at present.
Also, it looks like I can get the 3 involute cutters I'd need to do all the missing gears for AUD$30 total, whereas a hob is about 6 times that price. I guess the cost difference narrows significantly if you need to buy the full set of cutters.
I started looking around for ideas on how I could index them without having a dividing head etc.
Came across this simple idea of using a indexing disc made out of cardboard. The guy then made it even easier by using a USB microscope to line up the indexing lines.
Gear Indexing Video
So that gets me around indexing without a proper indexing head.
Should then be a simple case of making up some sort of spindle to mount the gear on, clamping it into a v-block or similar and cutting it.
Steve
My local metal supplier usually has a bunch of different size flame cut steel circles leftover from where they've cut holes out of plate for custom jobs. If they've got some that are thick enough they'll be a cheap source of steel stock.
Vinny - I hadn't considered a hob as I thought they needed the gear blank to be rotated at a specific speed to match the hob. If that's right it would be out of my capabilities and tooling at present.
Also, it looks like I can get the 3 involute cutters I'd need to do all the missing gears for AUD$30 total, whereas a hob is about 6 times that price. I guess the cost difference narrows significantly if you need to buy the full set of cutters.
I started looking around for ideas on how I could index them without having a dividing head etc.
Came across this simple idea of using a indexing disc made out of cardboard. The guy then made it even easier by using a USB microscope to line up the indexing lines.
Gear Indexing Video
So that gets me around indexing without a proper indexing head.
Should then be a simple case of making up some sort of spindle to mount the gear on, clamping it into a v-block or similar and cutting it.
Steve