[TinCanAlley]

Originally Posted by stragulus

Thanks for your answer. Yes you are right, it is an alignment issue of the arms. While my rigged gear kind of works, it has enough play in it that the arms did not move synchronously enough. I have yet to create proper replacement gear.

What did you use to create the gears? Especially the metal one I'm curious about. Given how much force is placed on that asymmetrical shaft hole of the cracked gear, it's bound to fail again with materials that can deform. Maybe nylon would work (that can be 3d-printed) as the original is also nylon, but I'd rather create a metal one. I have a 2d design made with inkscape that has the right amount and shape of teeth, I have yet to turn that into a 3D design (sketchup?) and then I suppose it could be 3d-printed, but does that work for metal or are there other solutions? I don't have any fancy equipment for this though I suppose I could find a workshop in my area.

I gave the gear to a friend that had a kit he uses to cast parts for his models. This was the first large size cast he had done. I'll get a hold of him and ask.