robobob Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I realize the cracked gear thing has come up before, but I'm still in need of input, so here goes...I searched through the archives, and older posts, and while there have been mentions of slipping / broken gears, I can't find any reference as to a good place to locate replacement gears, either plastic or brass. I guess this would be a good question for Mr. Rigg, but everyone else feel free to join in...Primarily, I was wondering about the infamous Rotate-o-matic gear ( see pic ). I am constantly tracking down cheap HK robots to use for gear transplants, but finding one that hasn't split nowadays is the proverbial needle in the haystack !!I would really like to give a few of these guys a chance at walking and spinning again.....Any Thoughts ?? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robobob Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 Here's the pic..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Here's the TIPS & TRICKS entry:http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/index.ph...0b396cb2210ed5aAnd this eBay seller:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3&category=1198And one more tip: Keep checking the "Everything For A Dollar" type stores for new toys that may use the same size gear you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zesko Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Thought about manufacturing them yourself? I've been playing around with lightweight molds lately, trying to manufacture a replacement gear for a completely unrelated toy...and it works pretty well, as long as you have an original gear to work with. In my case, I just mounted the good gear on a slick, level surface with silicone; sprayed it with a mold-release lube; then layed down about 20 very thin coats of latex over the original gear, until I had a fairly sturdy latex mold. Making the latex mold takes the longest, because you must wait until each layer is thoroughly cured before proceeding to the next. You have to be gentle in removing the mold so as to preserve the teeth, of course (plenty of mold-release lube beforehand is the trick)... Then mount & level your mold and pour in a little two-part resin plastic, which cures in a matter of minutes. What's cool is that you can make the latex mold sturdy enough for many plastic castings (like 20 or 30), as long as you keep the mold-release lubricant handy and are very gentle with the mold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothut Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Zesko, you realy can make the process simpler and faster if you stop useing the old latex mold method and use the Sillicon putty method. You mix equil amounts of part A and part B sillicon putty in your hand, work it over the gear just like you did before, then in less than 5 minuits you remove the gear from the sillicon, it is a firm but plyable mold. No mold release is required on the gear or in the mold to cast the finnal parts. Several places make and sell the sillicon putty I buy from SILPAK, INC. They have many different versions of the material I like the SILPUTTY.You can also buy the same type materials from Micro-Mark they have a 1 LB kit for $27 bucks part #81853 mold putty.Now as far as finding replacement gears, cheep toys are still the best place to look. The Robot 2000, Space Walk man robots that can still be found dirt cheep are a great place to get gears for Roto Robot repair. Some hobby shops have brass gears for sale also but you will pay more for a few gears than you would for a junker robot or other toy fro the gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zesko Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Thanks, John! Somebody else told me about SilPutty, also, but I couldn't find it at my local hobby shop... However, the hobby shop had a clearance sale on all this latex molding material and resin plastic, so I just bought up a quantity of the stuff, and I've been experimenting ever since. I'll give the SilPutty a try next because, as you pointed out, SilPutty is faster and less messy than the latex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 I love SilPutty. John turned me on to it when I was working on my ray gun and it really made life a lot easier. Simple to work with, clean, easy to keep and store... just great. And the molds are pretty durable, which is nice.There are two types of SilPutty, if I remember correctly... I ended up calling the company -- I told them what I wanted to do, explained that I didn't have a ton of experience, and then let them suggest the best tool for the job. They're nice people over there, very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothut Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 SilPak inc.Phone 909-625-0082 there in CA web is http://www.silpak.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robobob Posted January 10, 2004 Author Share Posted January 10, 2004 Wow !!Thats what I love about this place...Pop in a question, and the answers come flying !!!Thanks, everyone, for all the excellent ideas. I knew I was over-thinking this whole gear thing, and a new perspective is just what I needed ...Keep up the great work !!! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH MIKE Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Here is a good source for those 8 tooth plastic gears that always split.They may not last any longer than the originals but they do work just as good.http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/m2994.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reproman22 Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Hi Bob ,I make that gear in repro ( plastic white ,,at cheap price ) $3.00 + shipping8 tooth or 10 toothEmail me Sylvain from reproman22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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