Pen-shaking centrifuge

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Matthias Wandel made this rather tongue-in-cheek invention to help him shake pens.

Using my gear template generator program, I was able to establish that a three-tooth lantern against a mating cycloid shaped gear should just barely work smoothly. I wanted a high gear ratio for my pen centrifuge, so this was a good place to a gear with such a small number of teeth.

I wasn’t completely sure how well it would work, so I made a test gear. Not wanting to waste too much plywood, I only made a segment of a larger gear. The little gear has three “pins”, which are actually small 3/8″ (10 mm) ball bearings. There’s no rubbing on this gear!

Thanks, Gabriel!

4 thoughts on “Pen-shaking centrifuge

  1. frankt says:

    Funniest clip I’ve seen on the make blog. And I was right in thinking the Occupational health and safety groups wouldn’t like it.

  2. Shadyman says:

    Outtake 2:
    Always remember to counterbalance a centrifuge :) Bad things happen when you don’t.

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My interests include writing, electronics, RPGs, scifi, hackers & hackerspaces, 3D printing, building sets & toys. @johnbaichtal nerdage.net

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