Reuleaux Triangle Bearing - Working

Curves of width roll without being circular, but I wanted to turn them into a ball bearing. Turns out it was a lot more difficult than expected!
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[@fotofillholland]

Can you stick an LED on one, turn off the lights and do a long exposure of the movement pattern? That could be interesting to see!

[@daniwalmsley611]

you would have to have either a very small led or a very a large bearing otherwise you would end up with a wiggly circle (one revolution of the shaft per frame) or just a glowing circle (multiple revolutions per frame) as the path of the led would overlap with its self too much. A couple alternative ways is to film it and layer frames on top and blend it for a cool time lapse or user a UV laser pointing at a glow in the dark screen. Please don't miss understand me I am not criticsing your creative genius of an idea here I think its brilliant I am just adding my take on how you could make your idea come to life

[@PunakiviAddikti]

@@daniwalmsley611 Why not use a reflective surface and reflect ambient light instead of creating it? It doesn't even need to be a spotlight, a single LED aimed at the device would suffice, and it can be far enough that it doesn't illuminate the model.

[@markdaniel8740]

There is something oddly satisfying about making a useless object that works exactly the way we want it to while doing nothing.

[@MakersMuse]

This sums up my purpose in life.

[@tomgray971]

Perhaps that is Lady Muse's view of Angus. :)

[@hypervious8878]

You'd be surprised how many useful things we have today that were only possible because we making "useless objects doing nothing" decades or centuries ago, just to see if they would work exactly the way we envisioned. Case and point, goofing around with quantum physics in the 1920s, just because we felt like it = transistor chips by the 1960s.

[@KiR_3d]

Hi, Angus! Did you've tested it under loads and speed? It's interesting how long it can serve and how much it can take. If I've had your resources then I could make a bigger version of it with presssure sensors, torque meters and etc. Maybe you should check for patents! This thing doesn't look useless.

[@koshu4]

Today's art is tomorrow's space programme.

[@3DPrintingNerd]

YES. My goodness seeing it spin is hypnotic!

[@dancrankshaw2753]

I know right. It's so satisfying!!

[@thedemonferrari]

Why don’t you print it and showcase it?

[@atharvslife426]

Oh hellooo

[@brubz__]

EMBIGGEN IIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT

[@ryangarrison7088]

My highest rated KZbin comment ever was suggesting you do this in your first video on 3D Printed Solids of Constant Width!

[@MakersMuse]

Appreciated! Sorry it took so long to realise

[@mikemike7001]

Yes, the bearing is cool, but equally impressive are the beautiful industrial design, the choice of colors and textures, the graphics used to illustrate the design, the videography, video editing, and music.

[@PrintNPlay]

Would you say it's... a new spin on an old classic?

[@m3chanist]

More like reinventing the wheel.. complete with Arduino to simply drive a motor

[@kamikazebanzai1005]

i see what you did there

[@jakemclean7563]

Man puns just make my head SPIN

[@kamikazebanzai1005]

you could say that is SPINach

[@zombiekill3r301]

*badum tish*

[@The_Wosh]

The Angus bearing

[@JohnOCFII]

That is really cool, Angus! That would make a great piece of movable art for a desk top. The wheel motion is more apparent from the rear. I wonder if you could turn the triangles around so the cubic infill shows from the front. Would be also more visible if you could reduce the size of that gold frame piece (thin it out a bit both around the diameter and the cross bars near the triangular bearings. Maybe Rev 2 after you’ve slept on it. Again, very cool!

[@MakersMuse]

Thanks John! I was going to place the support ring at the rear, however I liked seeing the centerpoints moving up and down so left it. I'm sure I could make the front face exposed cubic infill as well without much loss of strength.

[@llearch]

You could replace the screws with full-depth bolts, and have the bolt head on the other side, so the visual centerpoint is still moving. Or, y'know, just print a center point on that side.

[@samc5898]

Yeah, I definitely want one of these for my desk

[@spikekent]

Fantastic! Somehow I knew you wouldn't let this one go :-) Looking forward to the next iterations. Right, I'm off to read the Patreon post and download now

[@MakersMuse]

Many more to come! I fear these experiments are addictive.

[@crussty3d]

This is AWESOME!!!! I can imagine a HUGE Ferris Wheel designed like this.

[@mentality-monster]

Indeed, my first thought was theme park ride.

[@leonardab5042]

It is not just the product that is awesome, but also the process that brought you there!!! You kept on trying to solve the problem and not giving up. Great job, man!

[@thepfeiffenator2990]

You should find the circumference of the triangles and make a circle rather than a triangle of the flexible filament instead. It would act as an o-ring, that way if it does slide around the triangle it will not have the weird bulges.

[@MakersMuse]

Good call, yeah I'm probably going to tweak it like that.

[@ElectraFlarefire]

Good, someone suggested this and it got noticed. And because there is already a 'v' in the design, just make the 'belt' a bit extra tight and it'll pull in nicely and grip well, especially on the corners. It also opens up the posabilty of just using rubber bands or square O-rings. (That or you could put teeth around the perimeter on both sides and make them Reuleaux gears? :)

[@stvcolwill]

right- or just print it the bearing with flexible filament - so it's already grippy... then no need for the o-ring. You just have to print the rubbery kind that maintains shape and strength. (so not elastic kind).

[@stvcolwill]

It's super weird that you NEED friction to allow a bearing to work, right??

[@stvcolwill]

Another note--- so ESSENTIALLY - you've kind of remade planetary gear system based on friction (instead of teeth)----- difference here is that the planet gears aren't round. RIGHT??

[@thegambler2196]

I just discovered your channel today. As a maintenance person for machine tools this is all relevant and interesting.

[@Mirraslog0]

Stuff like this is why I absolutely love your channel, this is amazing! That last version is so oddly satisfying. Really awesome work, Angus. Looking forward to the next one!

[@offbeat4772]

I absolutely love solids of constant width. It just twists the mind in such a strange way. I actually initially found this channel when I found your other bearings video.

[@totally_not_a_bot]

The rubber rings migrate around due to the constantly shifting compression. Similar to squishing a tube and pushing fluid through. Perfectly normal. Try using good old EPDM o-rings. They'll need to be pretty tight.

[@kurtilein3]

Or just make it all gears.

[@newCoCoY6]

Thats what he said

[@Keefcooks]

Fantastic work Angus! Well done.

[@MakersMuse]

Thanks Keef!

[@JAYTEEAU]

Woah, awesome stuff Angus. Glad you persisted as 'she's a beaut'

[@tommyg957]

So Cool! I am glad to see you continued your efforts on the Reuleaux bearings.

[@AmericanKilljoy]

This is a great example of what you talk about when you say "iterative design." Great work as usual!

[@Robothut]

I enjoyed this one a lot . Thank you for posting it Angus. You know my love of 3d printed mechanical devices from my work and this was a real treat to see work !

[@0calvin]

These sorts of videos that feature your own design work are definitely the best.

[@carlangelo653]

This is top class. The effort you must have put in to making this. Truly inspiring.

[@MrNursi]

Congratulations Angus! Pointlessly satisfying.

[@ThysaniaAg]

It looks absolutely stunning! Your printed gadgets are amazing, mind-blowing, and beautiful!

[@zarster]

Exelent video. That last remark on your mistake was hilarious and I really appreciated you including it.

[@MakersMuse]

Haha I'm always making mistakes. That one I swear at the time was going to fix my problems then in the morning pulled it off the print bed and sighed!

[@zarster]

Maker's Muse Yeah, well. We all feel like that once in a while. Right now I for one is battling one of my i3 clones with Astrobox refusing to connect to WiFi /boot even though it worked a few days ago. I need to see others fail just a bit as well. 😁

[@Chvcka]

That thing is beautiful while its moving. Well done Angus :D

[@DCDLaserCNC]

That is very cool Angus! Your persistence is inspring!

[@1972WarEagle]

Due to the rubber rings migrate around, gear the outside of the Reuleaux Triangle to lock into a gear inside the outer ring. making the gear set looking like a Reuleau Triangle planetary gear set. Awesome videos and thank you for all you do for the 3D printing community.

[@shenqiangshou]

Oh Angus you creative madman, this is awesome in so many ways! Congrats, great job!

[@nerys71]

The reason you're flexible ring rotates around the object is because it's not moving it's acting like a tank tread if you look at a tank tread in slow motion the part of the tread that touches the ground isn't actually moving the rollers are rolling inside the tank tread well your bearings are rolling inside their tank treads or the flexible ring you printed

[@stevenmcculloch5727]

Nerys it's probably something like pushing a bubble out of a screen protector but with one less dimension to worry about. That flexible band just needs a little bit of adhesive or something.

[@christiansandrini96]

Couldn't it be also because on the outside you have a perpendicular force acting on the flat surface on the outside of the flexible insert while on the inside it's split along 2 diagonal surfaces, hece providing more friction on the outside than the inside?

[@olivialambert4124]

Uh well done you noted the most fundamental rule in any wheel, tank tread, bearing, or rolling frictionless device? I'm not sure what disappoints me more, the fact that this is a genuine "discovery" to so many people or the replies and "insights" in response. All thats left to work out is if I should weep for humanity as a whole, or just the American education system.

[@christiansandrini96]

Olivia Lambert why are you so bitchy about it? Since when ingnorance on a certain matter is so despicable to need such rudeness?

[@holopengin]

Steven McCulloch or just shrink the inserts a tiny bit so that pressing against it while rolling won't stretch it away from the hard bits as much. Or, hell, replace the inserts with rubber bands.

[@brendanomara339]

Super interesting and super cool model! This was one of the most interesting projects to date!

[@flxfrnzs]

Your flexible ring is travelling because your three rollers are not synchronized - the ring that keeps them apart wants to rotate at different speeds if one of the tips of the triangles is pointing directly inwards or directly outwards. If all triangles have their tips pointing inwards or outwards at the same time, then they want the ring to travel at the same speed at the same time. If they are not then there will be forces as the triangles will want to move at different speeds. This will make your flexible friction ring travel.

[@theinkdroid]

I love it. It's so pleasing to watch.

[@lachlangraham6826]

Congratulations you now have a better understanding of the rotary engine through the design of your bearings

[@brendansmith9677]

Amazing job! This is very cool. I like the videos like this and the geneva drive one. Keep up the good work!

[@MakersMuse]

Thanks! I love making these things so definitely more to come.

[@welbot]

Great little project :) Cool that you motorized it too!

[@THEMACINTOSH25]

Triple like this video! Good design! Explained how you got the surface pattern! Keep inventing!

[@TheSecurity16]

2am at night? That's morning. Also this whole video is epic including the music. Awesome work

[@mbux14]

I want that T-shirt. Glad you finally figured it out!

[@slunce12]

Now, as a challenge, make the small gear that drives the "kinetic sculpture" a reuleaux triangle as well. You'd have to mount the gear and the motor so that they could move a bit, to cope with the changing distance between the center of the gear and the contact point, but I think it would look super cool.

[@isaaccgehman]

I've just watched your James Watt Planetary Gear video before this one and I can't help but see the similarities. You could eliminate the need for friction by adding teeth and creating a Reulaux Planetary Gear, so to speak. I expect the shifting inserts issue (my guess is it's a result of the smaller rounded corners changing the relationship between the inner and outer edges, but that's just a guess) would be contained by distributing the slip/sliding evenly between each tooth, making it appear smooth. There's certainly a challenge associated with figuring out how those teeth would have to be sized, but wouldn't that be an incredible alternate version?

[@Peter-qd7do]

Congrats on the success!

[@haiaokuwa]

Super gratifying to watch!

[@Duci1989]

Highly satisfying to look at!

[@916senna]

Cool toy, love your determination to make it work !

[@Shadobanned4life]

Great work Sir ! Persistence pays !

[@Inventorsquare]

Incredible job! It works! It's a new invention!

[@Mikeofindy]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the KZbin world.

[@raqqa5535]

Holy, the aesthetics man... I've never seen that glittering 3D printer material, it looks so good. Nice fucking job

[@robinc5083]

Wow Angus... You did it! Amazing!

[@Del350K4]

Well done, Angus. Persistence paid off here : )

[@aggronn]

so calming to look at

[@Albireo8]

I am not from an engineering background but love tatting about with my Cel Robox machine. And this is VERY interesting. I may have a go at a smaller version though tolerances do I presume become tighter as sizes diminishes. Keep it up.

[@stephenberrisford4064]

I just got to make one of these, fascinating, cheers Angus👍

[@its_austin_yt2661]

Love your shirt dude! i want that as a crossover now

[@marhar2]

Beautiful! Keep studying these odd counterintuitive shapes.

[@19rocket64]

Just amazing art!

[@MrChickenChoker1]

another great video keep up the great work

[@jaakkopontinen]

Angus and the 3D Printing Nerd guy are keeping me intrested in 3DP.

[@josephcraig8807]

HOLY SMOKES this is so cool thank you so much for such an inspiring video keep up the good work

[@yurikz9]

ok this was amazing angus!!

[@LarryYaw]

Freaking brilliant Angus!

[@Twigz2010]

This would make an awesome desk toy!

[@MrCrankyface]

Awesome job, such a nice desktop piece! :)

[@buildersmark]

Love this build

[@ticTHEhero]

You did it, congratulations

[@galenrichter41]

Wow, that looks actually very cool. I could see that being on someones desk in the place of those little metal balls on strings and you pick up an end one and let it hit the others in the group and the one on the other end is knocked outward

[@fruitsaladin6314]

Wow that's beautiful!

[@TMS5100]

well done angus! 👍

[@M33f3r]

Very cool. This might be how inventions are made in the future

[@stephan.scharf]

very nice design!

[@herzogsbuick]

building those bearings looks fun and challenging! what I take exception to, is how complicated your motor circuit is.

[@amirhoseinkargar3733]

Congats.....you finally did it

[@chojkp]

It was a good video.Technology develops as people break their classic ideas.

[@BenjaminSissel]

This is awesome! Looking at how the center of mass of the bearing moves inward and outward; you could add an attachment to this. An application for this is adding linear motion in line with the center of the mechanism; maybe adding some sort of stepper movement at set intervals / times. Or adding a type of piston-like movement. The in-radial movement could also provide the motion required for a pump or lung of some sort. I'm not sure where that could go but I'd be interested to find out. But I would imagine any more forces added to the bearing would affect it's ability to move freely.

[@WesCrockettCA]

This is absolutely incredible! Great work! You should make it where the bracket is on the backside. It would LOOK a little misleading, but would look really, really, nice.

[@bcohen992]

Very cool! This as a clock design would be great =)

[@estebanamaya4523]

ITS BEAUTIFUL!

[@gyzardo3648]

I love how he had the working version in the background the whole time almost teasing us with the solution lmao

[@stevesloan6775]

You definitely got it regarding geometry my friend🇦🇺🤓😎

[@josiahriojas2593]

That is really cool!

[@markattardo]

Well done!

[@CasualInventor]

Beautiful work. If you embedded an LED in each corner of one of the triangles and take a long exposure photo of it in the dark I think you'd get a pretty nice spirograph-type image. You could use a 3v coin cell and red, green and blue LEDs.

[@ChannelHTS]

very cool man well done

[@LordGarth6]

I'd love to see the high and low points that the screws in the slots make as it all rotate, as it seems it could make a cool cam gear of sorts or some kind of useful motion. It looks like it either paths it a normal triangle or another shape of constant width

[@anim8dideas849]

purely amazing

[@a_student0]

Great Job! Thanks 👍

[@PCMenten]

Awesome! Fascinating stuff. If you don’t mind, would you be able to model the distance between the center points of the shapes as they rotate. I’m wondering if the constant-width shapes can be phased to maintain a constant center point distance. That would allow an external ‘cage’ that probably has a triangular path. Very cool stuff.

[@candogancan5574]

great experiment.

[@josephcraig8807]

Also it would be really cool to see how you designed this bearing as i always learn new things watching those videos

[@allyourcode]

I feel like as long as the bearing does its job (i.e. let a shaft roll), you've already won. Getting the bearings to roll is nice, but just icing on the cake.

[@LaurieMB]

Cool stuff - I wonder if the sliding tracks in the cage could be eliminated if you had a simple cage with 3 fixed points on the centre's of each triangle, but place them in the bearing to start with so that one is where it was low on the track, one is 2/3rds of the way up and one is 1/3rd of the way back down again. As it rotates this cage ring would move in a similar way to the hole in the middle of the Wankel triangle... It could be interesting to overlay this ring on top of your slotted ring and see the two move in relation to each other. Probably would create horrible vibrations in a high speed application but might be hypnotic on your motorised display piece!

[@genericaccount9222]

Incredible!

[@chainmaillekid]

I'm very impressed.

[@avejst]

Thanks for sharing 😀👍

[@jamesdavis2027]

OMG that late night prototype LOL! I could totally see myself making that exact mistake.

[@sirifail4499]

Amazing! I’ve been intrigued by “objects of a constant width” for a while. Very interesting to see what you came up with! I have a comment/observation that may explain some of the issues that you encountered (though I’m an electrical engineer so I’m somewhat out of my area of expertise - I’ll try my best to use the correct terms). The “triangles” are a constant width when rolling between two parallel planes. I don’t think they are a constant width when moving along the inside of your outer bearing race. The “problem” will be exacerbated by the ratio of the outer to inner race diameters. To best explain my concept, consider a very, very tiny center race/shaft. Maybe smaller than a pencil. In this case, the curved sides of the triangle will have almost exactly the same curvature/radius as the outer race. (Picture the triangle with one corner/apex on the inner shaft, and the curved edge against the outer race.) They won’t want to rotate - they will be very inclined to slide. Of course your bearing has a larger inner race, but I think the “constant width” property of your triangles isn’t valid when they are on a non-planar surface such as the inside of your circular bearing.

[@MrDillonv83]

Way to cool man, very renaissance and like steam punk mix.

[@michaelbender477]

Hello AngusThe rubber acts as a compliance surface taking up the slight variations in tolerance of the different parts. It's a very cool idea on how to always have touching surfaces in static friction. You could try and key in the flexible material into the shapes.Great Video Mate! CheersMichael