Gear wording typo?

[Jkwashbourne]

4k. Use a gear system of at least 3 homemade, non-electrical, non-commercially constructed gears, so that the final gear turns at least 360 degrees and the turning of the final axle causes the next action.

In our setup the axles dont turn. This seems to obviously be a typo. It is unclear to me where to get clarification or if I should not worry about it. TIA.

[Schrodingerscat]

4k. Use a gear system of at least 3 homemade, non-electrical, non-commercially constructed gears, so that the final gear turns at least 360 degrees and the turning of the final axle causes the next action.

In our setup the axles dont turn. This seems to obviously be a typo. It is unclear to me where to get clarification or if I should not worry about it. TIA.

That portion of the rules appears that it could be very intentional. I would strongly recommend redesigning your gears to fit the letter of the rules. However, if you do still believe that this is an unintended wording of the intent of the rules, you can submit a question for official clarification here. However, unless an official FAQ or clarification is posted, I strongly recommend against entering your current implementation into a competition, as it is rarely (almost never) worth risking construction violations.

[iwonder]

I would agree with schro, the rules are most likely worded that way specifically so you have to turn the final axle as part of the task... but again, nothing you'll get on scioly is official, so if you're in doubt, submit a clarification.

[Jkwashbourne]

Does anyone else agree that axles in general do not turn?

I have submitted questions twice at the link that Schrodingerscat provided above, with flatline response. I am looking for the email of a person who might be able to reply. TIA.

[Jkwashbourne]

I have to admit a rotating axle is plausible. redesign time ...

[Skink]

I have submitted questions twice at the link that Schrodingerscat provided above, with flatline response. I am looking for the email of a person who might be able to reply. TIA.

If you submitted an Official Clarification, then all you can do is wait. They received it, and bombarding the SO folks with more may only slow them down (it certainly won't speed them up). I, too, am sitting on an unanswered question about this event. I normally say give it two weeks, but the holiday season probably impacted this all.

4h (or whatever letter it was) is bolded, so they literally made this change from last season. That said, I do not see it at as a typographical error considering the entire sentence or two, not just a single word, would have to be edited in order to *not* indicate that your axle must turn and impact the next task. There is no other way to read that, I'm afraid. I'd consider your device as-is a non-scoreable task.

[Jkwashbourne]

Thanks skink, my previous unanswered question is from more than 3 weeks ago. I agree it is safest to assume the axle must turn. I read this as not requiring homemade axles/bushings, only homemade gears.

[jander14indoor]

Does anyone else agree that axles in general do not turn? <SNIP>

Again, NOT official, just a personal opinion.

Hmm, short version, no. Axles may turn or not depending on system design needs. As an automotive engineer I'm aware of no convention that axles do not turn, nor does it match my experience.

I know in the design of cars (like I said, I'm a powertrain design engineer for a large automotive company) axle shafts certainly turn.
- If you think in terms of older rear wheel drive cars which had a large component connnecting the rear wheels called an axle, the housing certainly did not turn, but the internal shafts did. Those internal shafts are called axles too.
- For more modern front or all wheel designs, there is certainly a pair of bare spinning shafts connecting the engine to the front wheels, and for all wheel drive bare spinning shafts connect the rear drive unit to the wheels. We've always called them half shaft axles.

Some smaller (non-automotive) gear mechanisms I've seen have all the gears spinning on stationary axles. BUT, I've also seen where a larger and smaller gear are connected by a common axle to turn together.

I know a pinewood derby car has a stationary axle (a nail) the wheels spin on. I know RC cars can have solid rear axles that have a gear attached to take torque from the engine (or motor) and transfer torque directly to solidly attached wheels.

If you look into steam trains, you will find the drive wheels on opposite sides of the engine are rigidly attached to a connecting axle and the whole turns as a unit. Its fairly common that bogie wheels are mounted simimlarly.

<SNIP>I am looking for the email of a person who might be able to reply. TIA.

You're not going to get that, the SO process is set up to force all official questions and answers through the site given to make sure EVERYONE has access to the answers equally. Note, there can be a LOT of official queries and there is a process they go through to get an answer from a committee of folks. As a result, sometimes responses come quick, sometimes, not so much.

With the holidays, 3 weeks isn't unusual.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[chalker7]

<SNIP>I am looking for the email of a person who might be able to reply. TIA.

You're not going to get that, the SO process is set up to force all official questions and answers through the site given to make sure EVERYONE has access to the answers equally. Note, there can be a LOT of official queries and there is a process they go through to get an answer from a committee of folks. As a result, sometimes responses come quick, sometimes, not so much.

With the holidays, 3 weeks isn't unusual.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

Also, a lot of the people who deal with clarifications are extremely busy running the Wright State Invitational this weekend, so I wouldn't expect anything before then...

[goodcheer]

I agree the wording for the gear task is at least a little vague in two areas. I submitted a FAQ last fall about "non-electrical" gears. In my view, all gears are mechanical in nature, so to say "non-electrical" is confusing. I assume what is meant is the gear system cannot be electrically powered. That seems to be the safest way to proceed without a clarification. Also the axle question is similar. The task in general seems to be about making a simple homemade gear system without specifics about the axles. If it was the intent that the axles rotate with the gears, the rules should have clearly stated so. In my opinion, a simple gear can be made just as easily with a stationary axle as with a moving one, so I don't see why either one would not qualify. Also, with a rotating axle, the gear has to rotate just the same as one with a stationary axle. As it stands, the rule speaks of the "final gear" turning 360 deg and the "final axle" causing the next action. Whether it is the "final gear" or the "final axle" that causes the next action seems moot. The final gear has to turn either way and it is the turning of the gear that causes the work to be done. But opinions and rules often differ. Good luck.