this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2025
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For those that don't get it
The way the gears are arranged will result in a grid lock - you won't be able to turn any of them.Rotating one clock-wise (CW) will rotate another counter-clock-wise (CCW), and the 3rd gear will spin CW. Because the first and 3rd gear are close enough to be in contact, and they're both rotating CW, they are opposing each other resulting in them being locked
Ie. none of this will work
Yup on a 2 dimensional surface or if all three share a plane it’ll never work. Only way would be if one was extruded and the other two weren’t touching.
Where do I read more a out the theory behind this?
I don't know if there's anything specific to read. It's a basic mechanic of gears. They turn connected gears in the opposite direction. If the gear you're spinning is attached to two other gears, they'll both want to spin opposite the first gear, and the same as each other. If they're both connected they'll try to make each other spin opposite themselves too, which obviously can't happen.
see Friction.
Well I mean yeah friction but I'm sure there's a mathematic model of how gear systems work and you can mathematically prove that this doesn't work, and other interesting facts about gears and two or three or more dimensions