Lochbalken-Werkstatt (3D)
About this app
Ein Konstruktionsbaukasten in 3D: Lochbalken, Kreuzachsen, Zahnräder und Motor rasten im 8-mm-Raster ein. Das Getriebe läuft echt: Übersetzung, Drehsinn und Drehmoment je Stufe, Zwischenrad und Schnecke, ein Fahrzeug auf dem Rollenprüfstand. Fünf Vorlagen auch als Bauanleitung.
With explain mode: an AI tutor walks you through the app, points out what matters in the scene and answers your questions.
The basics
Gear trains trade speed for torque and back. When a small gear drives a big one, the big one turns more slowly and with more force; the ratio i = z₂/z₁ says by how much. For two gears to mesh at all, the distance between their axles must equal the sum of their pitch radii. In a beam system with an 8 mm hole pitch and module 1 this means (z₁ + z₂)/2 mm must be a multiple of 8 mm. 8 and 24 teeth fit two holes apart, 16 and 24 teeth fit nowhere.
What you see
A construction kit in 3D: beams, cross axles, gears with 8, 16, 24 and 40 teeth, a worm, wheels, a pointer, a carousel and a motor. Everything snaps to the grid, and the app inserts connectors between aligned holes itself. When the motor starts, the gearbox really turns. The Gears panel gives speed, direction, ratio, torque and the stages from the motor for every axle. The app also detects jammed gear trains and self-locking.
Try it yourself
Load the 9 : 1 reduction and tap the pointer: two stages with i = 3 each. Then compare a small and a large idler gear; the output speed stays the same. Build the vehicle step by step following the instructions, with the next part glowing. Or build freely: lay a beam, push an axle through a hole, put a gear on it, plug the motor onto the axle end.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate the ratio of a gear train?
- The ratio of one stage is i = z₂/z₁, the teeth of the driven gear divided by the teeth of the driving gear. With several stages you multiply the individual ratios. The output speed is the input speed divided by i; without friction the torque grows by the factor i.
- What does an idler gear do?
- An idler gear sits between two gears and reverses the direction once more. It does not change the overall ratio, however many teeth it has: its tooth count cancels out of z₂/z₁ · z₃/z₂ = z₃/z₁.
- Why is a worm gear self-locking?
- On a single-start worm the lead angle of the thread is small. The friction in the thread is then larger than the force the wheel exerts on the worm in the circumferential direction. So the wheel cannot turn the worm, and the load stays put without a brake.
- What can I build with the beam construction kit?
- Anything made from beams, cross axles, gears, a worm, wheels and a motor on an 8 mm grid: gearboxes, vehicles, carousels. Five models come ready-made or as building instructions; your own model is saved in the browser.
Subject: Engineering mechanics
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- Kinematics
- Kinetics & Newton's second law
- Forces & vector addition
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