3D printed plastic gears make chainless bike ride
Sergii Gordieiev, the creator behind the channel The Q, revives a chainless bike by making it functional using a series of interconnected, 3D printed plastic gears. Interlocked in a row, the setup consists of a large gear and four mini ones. When the large one rotates, it transfers motion to the smaller gears, allowing for rotation and hence letting the chainless bike ride again even without its original chain.
The creator uses the printed Phrozen Arco, which uses high-flow engineering nozzles that push the melted plastic quickly. Before that, Sergii Gordieiev makes sure that the design of each gear is aligned correctly so the chainless bike can work. If one gear slips, the system fails, but thanks to the 3D printer, the sizes of the gears are accurate enough for them to work just fine. When printed, the plastic gears come out as white, the same color as the material, and the creator paints them orange so they stand out on the chainless bike when he rides it.
all images courtesy of The Q
Replaceable and custom parts using 3D printer
In the video uploaded on Youtube, the creator is seen building the frame of the chainless bike to affix the 3D printed plastic gears. He measures them precisely, and rightly so, or else one of the gears could fall and hinder the bike’s run. He tests the gears on a wooden slab and screws them onto it before trying it out on the part where the chain is supposed to be around. He then places that last small gear onto the rear wheel’s hub, connecting the row of 3D printed plastic gears that makes the chainless bike run like a clockwork mechanism.
The video shows how Sergii Gordieiev built the chainless bike with 3D printed plastic gears, serving as a preview or guide for crafty viewers who’d like to produce their own functional bicycle without a chain. Using a 3D printed can allow for cheaper parts replacement too, since the user can regenerate the components at home and without needing to go to a workshop with the filaments they already have. So far, only the plastic gears are extruded, but if the users want to customize their chainless bike with other 3D printed parts, now’s their time.
interlocked in a row, the setup consist of a large gear and four mini ones
when the large one rotates, it transfers motion to the smaller gears
the plastic gears make the chainless bike run like a clockwork mechanism
view of the gears after 3D printing
project info:
name: Chainless Bike – Gears Edition
channel: The Q | @theq_original
