Zeamon Orrery Plans

[@malburrgg4246]

I am like you, in the fact that I often challenge myself too hard and bite off more than I can chew. For some reason gears and gearing, and clocks/watches, I am fascinated with and have this strong desire to design something to understand it better. Thank you so much for not gatekeeping your amazing work. I appreciate what Clickspring does, but I really appreciate you sharing the PDF and showing us that amazing ability of adobe pdf that had no idea about. Thank you!!

[@KenToonz]

You're very welcome. Good luck with your build!!!

[@geoffhughes9097]

Brill.....ur the man. Making your Orrery is now the next project on my list after I have completed the current project...A Ferris Wheel Clock. Keep up the brill work. Geoff

[@RThailand]

I have 0% interest in Orreries but this is AWESOME and you Sir are an amazing builder, created, designer.

[@Zig285]

Amazing work. I've been fascinated by orreries for some time, so I look forward to making use of your plans. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@briandenzer]

Extraordinary! Wow! Thank you, Ken. Now to master CNC. I can't wait to dive in.

[@ghall1964]

Thanks so much. I just found the first project for my new CNC machine shop.

[@ArtofCNC]

Awesome work. Note: Gearotic1.0.exe is included in a gearotic install folder, but must be run manually as there is no startup icon created for it.

[@KenToonz]

Thanks Art! You've turned out some amazing software over the years!!! And thanks for the helpful note about Gearotic 1.0.

[@Runescope]

AWESOME! I see that gearotic might even output stl files! Which is good news for those of us with 3D printers. :D. You sir, are a saint!

[@brendankevinsmith]

I am sure you have heard this before, but thanks for your work.

[@KenToonz]

You're welcome!

[@titaa56]

Can we please just buy one off you?

[@hannahgarcia8315]

Hey! I'm going to try making this as a Christmas gift. I was thinking using acrylic, and getting this laser cut.

[@kevmatt8450]

This is amazing

[@inovationu5570]

is available on line store woekind model if how much Rs.?

[@MaineGeezer]

I'm begining to understand how it all goes together. A couple of questions, if I may: The holes for the 2-56 screws seem to be missing in some of the parts. For example, if you isolate the Venus assembly in your PDF model, then progressively remove parts from the top, Bearing 375X Large has no screw holes, but the parts above and below it do. I assume Bearing 375X Large should have holes as well? The fit and finish you achieved is impressive!

[@KenToonz]

Thanks for the kind words! You're really testing my memory here! The PDF was an export from a now extinct CAD program and I have no idea if it was 100% accurate. The PDF is meant as a guide to be used in conjunction with the many step by step build videos I uploaded. If you follow the videos and actually try building the Orrery I'm sure you'll figure out where you need those holes. Good luck with your build!

[@munch15a]

hello can I ask for some advise on the best way to turn this into an style file where the components stay as separate instead of joining up together ?

[@desjanparbery305]

I built the Orrery & Earth, Moon, Sun orbiter from Eaglemoss magazine. It took 2yrs for both but the 2nd Earth/Moon/Sun orbiter didn't work as well as the Orrery. I would really love to give your version a go, I like that it's hand rotated. Q: where do we purchase the gears & other parts? Or do we need to make these in a machine shop ourselves?

[@heidilarsen8982]

Thanks for your generosity in sharing your plans! Roughly how many hours do you think it took you to make this? Thanks!

[@superpator]

beautiful ! Since i'm new to this, I don't know how to build the pieces. Is it possible either to order them somewhere on the net, or have them 3D printed (although I doubt the output can be a accurate as brass). If possible, I would even buy one ! bravo

[@KenToonz]

Sorry, this is a one of a kind. I seriously doubt a 3D printed model would work.

[@superpator]

@@KenToonz I agree. I think a printed 3D model with as much as plexiglas parts to make the mechanism less visible would also be great. Having the planets looking like being in suspension would be astonishing (maybe via magnets ?). I think I'll try to do it anyway, but working with metal is totally new to me, I don't have the equipment, I would need a Fablab close to me. It's a very long shot. But anyway, what a beautiful device ! I wonder if a "real" planetarium would be feasible starting from an Orrery. the mechanics is broadly the same, but the view point is from Earth, not from above. Bravo again

[@corrademeyer6224]

First, I would like to congratulate you on the design and your craftmanship. I am a hobby machinist and it is just wonderful. I am determined to build this orrery myself and have already ordered the brass and the cutter. However, after many hours of trying, I have given up in getting Gearotic going in order to obtain the precise dimensions of the gears etc. as a result, I am using the measurement tool in the pdf file to measure the OD of the gears and other parts. This is very unsatisfactory and I am unsure of the values that I get. Can I ask you whether the "Model units" are in deed 1:40 ?? Thank you. Cheers. Cor

[@KenToonz]

Hi Cor. Thanks for the kind words. I did this work a long time ago and have no idea what the model units were. However, gears have VERY specific and consistent dimensions which can be found with any of the MANY gear calculators online (just do a search). You enter the modulus of the cutter and the number of teeth and they will tell you the exact size of the gear (and a ton of other useful information). The gear dimensions are the only critical part of the design. Once known, you can design the arms, planets and other parts to suit your taste. Be creative! There's no need to make your model an exact copy of mine. Good luck, Ken

[@jameselger572]

Hello, here's a better idea. Convert Orrery into a day and night sundial that you use with a sextant. Here's what I mean, the only way the sun can be at that angle in the sky, is for it to be exactly that time of day. So, you right there find both the instant in time and your longitude. Time, without a clock unless, the sky is ticking... So, since it's a navigational aid and a Celestial Ruler of Time, you then find your latitude by calculation.

[@jameselger572]

It could but, it would have to show hours minutes seconds in Universal standard time, and longitude.

[@jameselger572]

You use more than one visible planet because, they duck behind the sun, and that's why include moon.

[@jameselger572]

If you come up with a clutch for the Earth, so it can only start spinning at 12, then you can use precision movements, and a magnifier to look at the Earth because, it would have marks on it. But, the precision movements they use them in sextants. It's the fine adjust for longitude and time.

[@jameselger572]

You'll figure it out, and it can be made more precise than an atomic clock. It's an analog planetary map of time in the solar system.

[@jameselger572]

Unlike, GPS, this is an EMP proof device, and a coronal mass ejection. It can help keep shipping moving by making a clock where a watch won't work.

[@redmonaco4264]

A beautiful piece. Ive downloaded all the files you have kindly supplied and have a question. I note that the gear diameters are very precise down to 4 decimal places. As an example G47 is 1.9859. Is there a reason why it was not just rounded up to 2? oh and also I am assuming the measurements are in cm?

[@KenToonz]

Thanks! The gear dimensions are in inches. For gears to mesh precisely, their sizes need to be precise. The dimensions are derived from formulas which you can find on the Internet. Four decimal places is probably overkill but I wouldn't go crazy with rounding. Try making a few gears and experimenting.

[@redmonaco4264]

@@KenToonz Many thanks for such a speedy reply.

[@Runescope]

Small problem, you can't actually save the Gearotic Orrery plans, as clicking on the link makes the browser try to display the file, but right-clicking and going save as, only saves the KZbin redirect link. I'd suggest a zipfile.

[@KenToonz]

Thane Greyhaven Thanks for spotting this. I've changed it to a zip file and it now works as expected. Funny thing, the old file was downloading correctly but the extension was being changed. If you renamed it after the download it was fine. Weird...

[@corrademeyer6224]

Hi Ken. I did complete my orrery based on your orrery and using your pdf file. I had to make my own drawings as I was unable to obtain dimensions from the pdf file. Should you be interested in viewing my orrery, please type in "Cor Rademeyer" in the search section. You will be able to view my orrery together with videos of some other projects. Thank you again for sharing your orrery and the pdf file. Cheers. Cor

[@KenToonz]

I just watched your video. EXCELLENT JOB! Congratulations.

[@radamanthisdewivern]

The zeamon page is not working any more, would you have the plans for gearotic?

[@KenToonz]

Zeamon should be working now.

[@TomasHendriks]

I believe I discovered a flaw in your moon orbit time... Relative to the stars the moon orbits the earth 13.368 times a year. Your gear ratio is 147/11 = 13,364 But there is 1 extra orbit because the earth itself orbits the sun So you have 14,36 moon revolutions relative to the stars. I choose the gear ratio 99/8 = 12,375 Therefor it orbits the earth 13,375 times a year. Am I right on this??

[@TomasHendriks]

PS. If there are no gears at all for the moon, it orbits the earth 1 time a year relative to the stars.

[@KenToonz]

Wow Tomas, you've been busy! I'll have to think about that. Keep in mind though that my goal was to show where the moon and planets would be on any particular day, based on the blue calendar gear.

[@CrueKnight]

What's the cost in materials?

[@KenToonz]

+Crue Knight It's been a while so I don't remember exactly, but it's expensive. Brass is very expensive. I probably spent close to $500 USD on materials. Tooling is also expensive. Each gear cutter is around $100 USD. The rest of the expense will depend upon what you have in stock - both material and tooling.

[@mopsiu50]

could you give stl files of these gears?

[@mopsiu50]

because gearotic 1.0 doesn't work on my computer:

[@KenToonz]

Gearotic 2.0 should do the trick. All the gears are Modulus 1.0 and the tooth counts are specified in the video and attached plans.

[@mopsiu50]

yes but I have a problem, because i don't quite understand how it's move i mean where is bearing that rotate and how is it mounted in this assembly

[@KenToonz]

I have posted a large number of videos that show every step of the construction. The video description above has a link to the playlist.

[@_Error_404_Goodbye]

So, I don't have a way to view the information in the 3d PDF, and i refuse to pay for a monthly subscription to adobe acrobat, then have to go through the process of getting a refund from the "free trial" when I would really only need it for a couple of hours to view some information. Is there another way to get a hold of this information? I really want to build one of these, it's been on my list for a long time now and this is a beautiful piece of work. If I can build one, I can use it to learn from and make my own versions later on down the road, which is my objective. I'm mainly interested in the information of the gears. Tooth count for each gear, and their respective location. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And again, what a beautiful piece you've made.

[@KenToonz]

Sorry, that's the only format I offer. I'm pretty sure you only need the paid version of Acrobat to create a 3D PDF. The free version should read it. If not, search the Internet for other free 3D PDF readers.

[@_Error_404_Goodbye]

No worries, I appreciate the fast response, I actually found what I was looking for on your still shot in the PDF. If I could make one suggestion, you've put a lot of work into making these videos, explaining everything expect for one thing, how you came up with the tooth count on each gear. My request is to add one more video to the archive and make it about how you calculated the amount of teeth were needed per gear. In my research on the topic, there are almost no resources on this topic, at least none that were useful or understandable. I feel with this last video, your collection will be complete. Again, thanks for all the hard work you put into these videos, fantastic work and I hope to see more from you in the near future, cheers!

[@KenToonz]

So, you want a simple video on the holy grail of calculating tooth counts? Sorry, there is no holy grail - just A LOT of trial and error. I created a spreadsheet to represent the gear train and give me rotations for various tooth combinations. I began by deciding that the large gears at each level would have the same tooth count and then chose a tooth count that would fit nicely at the scale I wanted the Orrery. Those became fixed numbers in the spreadsheet. Then I started to play with the other gear sizes. A month or so of guesswork later, I had a solution.

[@quad55555]

you need to sell this to bangood.com under profesional hobby making

[@黃冠霖-v7j]

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[@glennhynes5185]

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[@trevsstuff]

Hi Ken, thanks for putting up this video and making the plans available via the pdf. I built the orrery (actually two of them) but put my own slant on the base section. If you would like to see my rendition here is a link to a photo. Since the photo was taken I have found a very nice piece of blue/white resin material and replaced the temporary Earth sphere. drive.google.com/file/d/1yqkRo5eDbM6HQis0xbV1BBYtDHRQSo77/view?usp=share_link

[@KenToonz]

Wow, you did an amazing job with these Orrerys!!!! I'm so glad my plans gave you what you needed to realize this project!

[@trevsstuff]

@@KenToonz Thanks for the comment Ken but remember, you also do some amazing work. I've wanted to make an orrery for a long time and your plans were just what I needed to get me moving.