what about square gears?

[Frank S]

a practical application for square gears, well almost.

[Jon]

Nice. I like how it all powers a can crusher.

Anyway, I see your square gear and raise you a square watermelon:

[Frank S]

Square watermellons are more practical than square gears. Sq gears take up more space for a gear train whereas sq mellons take up less easy to ship can be boxed and gift wrapped. Maybe the same technique could be applied to other fruits. Just think of how practical square tomatoes would be every slice would perfectly fit on a sandwich

[Toolmaker51]

I'll call your square gear train and square water melons..... Apparently, the Japanese agricultural community has some pent-up tendencies.

[Frank S]

More fruits and vegetables grown in the US wind up in the recycle bin than is consumed because people binge buy then let it sit in their refrigerators until spoiled, still more than that just rots because no one wants to buy them if they don't look or feel a certain way.
Here comes the crazy orientals with a solution grow your fruits in a shaped vessel every orange watermelon asparagus cucumber, squash or what have you are all exactly the same shape and size. There is no more OH! I like this one because it is larger or smaller or shaped like Jimmy Durante's nose HUH Durante's nose?? Oh well that was a statement I heard at the produce isle once. God forbid you would buy a carrot that wasn't perfectly tapered and straight and OH don't buy that iceberg lettuce its lopsided those tomatoes are too flat on the end Give me a break. Grow your own and be satisfied if you can't find what you want in the produce section. an exact statement I told a woman one who had picked up and put back every bell pepper in the whole bin. If I owned a produce market there would be a sign posted very prominently stating You pick it up you put it in your basket my vegetables are not pets they do not need patted and squeezed or rubbed.

[DonRecardo]

Pity they cant grow pigs with squre legs . the sliced ham would fit sandwiches a treat

[Frank S]

Pity they cant grow pigs with squre legs . the sliced ham would fit sandwiches a treat

Who knows, they are trying to genetically engineer chickens to not have any bones and to be all white meat

[Paul Alciatore]

An application for square gears. Well, it works so I guess that is technically true. It does crush cans.

But all that mess of square gears is doing is translating the constant rotary motion that the gear box which probably contains a standard worm gear, from one end of that bench or trailer to the other. Since there is an odd number of square gears in the train, although the even numbered square gears do accelerate and decelerate, the odd numbered ones will all have the same, constant motion as the output shaft of that gear box. So the fact that they are square gears is totally unnecessary. Round gears would have done the same job equally well and would probably last a lot longer in use. The second square gear on the upper level is completely unnecessary and could be removed with no change in the action.

In fact, gears are not even needed and a much simpler way to transmit that constant rotary motion would have been to just use a belt or chain drive which would be a lot less expensive and more reliable.

But they do look neat. Sorry if this bursts anybody's bubble.

[Frank S]

I'm pretty sure it was built to be a crowd draw

[Jon]

More: Fruit Moulds and Fruit Shapers