Gears, gearboxes and hinges you can 3D print
Printed mechanisms need clearance: about 0.15 to 0.3 mm of backlash between gear teeth and 0.3 to 0.4 mm in print-in-place joints on a 0.4 mm nozzle. The designs here set those gaps as sliders, and the assembled ones are turned through their whole range on the model with every pose checked for collisions.
Spur gear pair
18 and 36 tooth spur gears with D-shaft bores and M3 set screw hubs, module 1 to 3.
Hand-crank gearbox
A 3:1 gear reduction you turn by hand: two gears on steel pins, a crank and a plate to screw down.
Print-in-place hinge
One-piece hinge that prints flat: countersunk holes, a 180 degree swing, a stop at flat and folded.
Designed with buildcad's AI agent, checked by the buildcad team.
Need a different shape? Open a free generator
- Gear generator : Spur gear pairs that mesh and turn, with the ratio, FDM backlash and a collision check.
- Planetary gear calculator : Ratios for every fixed member, valid tooth counts from a target ratio, and a 3D set to print.
- 3D print hinge generator : Print-in-place hinges and hinged boxes, with the gap checked through the swing.