Recent Blogs
Sectional Spur Gear: Ideal Advance and Dwell Fractions
Explore toothed-sector engagement and a separate conceptual dwell lock. Compare ideal output advance and cycle fractions; engagement transitions and loads are not calculated.
Two-toothed Pinion: Ideal Intermittent Step Calculator
Explore an incomplete pinion and calculate ideal advance from active and driven tooth counts. The engagement slider changes illustrative timing only.
Stop Roller Motion: Heart-slot Mechanism and Cycle Travel
Explore Hiscox movement 967, with its heart slot, roller stud and pawl. Calculate completed-cycle angular travel; phase timing is illustrative.
Spiral Stop-motion Gear Mechanism: How It Works, Diagram, Formula and Indexing Uses Explained
Spiral stop-motion gear converts continuous input into precise stepped rotation for indexing turrets, watch movements, and automated assembly machinery.
Rolling-contact Gears with Forked Catch: How the Mechanism Works, Parts and Indexing Uses Explained
How rolling-contact gears with a forked catch deliver intermittent indexing motion in packaging, textile and assembly machines — function, formula, worked example.
Rectangular and Noncircular Gears: Contact Radii and Instantaneous Speed
Explore the local speed relation behind noncircular gears. Calculate pitch-point radii and opposing output speed; complete rectangular gear profiles are not generated.
Pin Wheel and Slotted Pinion: Three Selectable Speed Changes
How a pin-wheel and slotted pinion converts continuous rotation into stepped indexing motion — design rules, formulas, and real-world examples from packaging and watchmaking.
Intermittent Spur Gear: Angular Closure Calculator | FIRGELLI
Compare toothed and locking angle shares and their signed difference from 360°. Tooth geometry, output travel and locking clearances are not calculated.
Eccentric Gear Train: Elliptical Planetary Animation and Pointer Calculator
Explore Hiscox’s eccentric gear train with linked elliptical and circular gear animations. Calculate signed shaft speeds and reversing pointer travel.
Continuous Rotary via Ratchet Bevel Gears: How It Works, Parts, Diagram, and Uses Explained
Explore opposed ratchets and bevel gears that drive one output on both rocking strokes. Compare average speed, angular advance and an entered take-up allowance.
Click-driven Cog-wheel Feed Mechanism: How It Works, Parts, Formula and Indexing Uses Explained
Animate an oscillating carrier and click feed. Calculate indexed angle from cog tooth count, teeth advanced per stroke and batch strokes, with a separate holding...
Sector Gears (uniform/variable Rotary) Mechanism Explained: How It Works, Parts, Formula & Uses
Sector gears explained — how partial-arc gears drive intermittent and variable rotary motion in steering boxes, weapons, and industrial machinery.
Mangle Wheel: Guided Pinion and Oscillating Wheel
Explore a guided-pinion mangle wheel. Convert entered pinion speed, tooth count, engagement pitches and output sweep into ideal count-based timing.
Star Wheel Mechanism: How It Works, Diagram, Parts, Formula and Industrial Uses Explained
Star Wheel Mechanism explained — how the indexing geometry works, real applications in bottling and machine tools, plus a worked example with numbers.
Ratchet (device) Mechanism: How It Works, Parts, Tooth Geometry, and Real-World Uses Explained
How a ratchet works, with formulas, real industrial examples, tradeoffs vs sprag and roller clutches, and a worked sizing example for a winch pawl.
Indexing Motion: External Geneva Phase Calculator | FIRGELLI
Calculate ideal output step and index/dwell fractions for a standard external Geneva. An optional reference span rescales the reported phase angles.