Jamila Colleen M. Briones October 26, 2009III – Helium Ms. Tayamora

HomeworkLego Mindstorms Gears

What are Lego Gears?In Lego, gears are mostly used to transfer the drive of motor to final mechanism. The

essential purpose of gears is to transform the properties of a motor to suit our purposes in the best way possible. In short, gears are used to either decrease or increase the torque.

LEGO GEARSType of Lego Gear: Functions:

1. 8-tooth Ordinary Gear It is the smallest gear and is the most fragile. This gear is mostly used for gearing down since it is the smallest and the most efficient at that work.

2. 12-tooth Single Bevel Gear This is the smallest bevel gear. It’s not that useful in gearing up or down but it is sought after when there is a need to transfer the drive in a perpendicular manner in a limited space. Also needed in differential mechanisms.

3. 12-tooth Double Bevel Gear It is stronger and more durable than its single bevel counterpart and is used with the 20-tooth gear, for almost the same purposes as the single bevel one.

4. 14-tooth Ordinary Gear Most originally designed for differential mechanisms. It is however weak and is most commonly replaced with the single bevel 12-tooth gear.

5. 16-tooth Regular/Ordinary Gear A strong and useful gear. It is the smallest gear that can be operated with Lego chain.

6. 16-tooth Gear with Clutch It is a gear designed specifically for gear boxes. It is weaker than the regular version

and doesn’t work well with the Lego chain. Instead, it has the unique characteristic to be engaged and disengaged by the transmission driving ring.

7. 20-tooth Single Bevel Gear A larger version of the 12-tooth single bevel gear and has the same functions as it, it is unpopular thought because it is so thin that it snaps under high torque.

8. 20-tooth Double Bevel Gear Most commonly used with a 12-tooth bevel gear to gear up or gear down. It is strong and reliable in high torque instances.

9. 24-tooth Regular Gear This gear is strong and reliable and has the characteristic of being one of the strongest gears. It does not snap under high torque conditions and so it is used when torque is to be increased.

10. 24-tooth Gear with Clutch Has the ability to slip harmlessly around the axle if a sufficiently high torque is applied. Mostly used in end-to-end applications, that is application when motor only runs until it reaches a certain point.

11. 24-tooth Gear with Crown One of the oldest gears which could be meshed in a perpendicular manner. Seldom used because it somewhat weak, mostly though, it shape could be taken advantage of and used in low torque conditions.

12. Worm Gear This gear can only be used as the driver gear, never as a follower gear. It comes useful in conditions where something has to be lifted up and be kept lifted. Also, it is very efficient for gearing down.

13. 36-tooth Double Bevel Gear The largest bevel gear. It is rare but strong enough to carry out systems with a moderately high torque. Effective in gearing up but not much use in gearing down.

14. 40-tooth Ordinary/Regular Gear The biggest gear in a Lego set. It is however, rarely used because of its immense size although it is very useful when it comes to high torque conditions.