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Gears! Gears! Gears!
Factory is the ultimate spinning, turning, twirling building
set! Create brightly colored moving masterpieces with easy-to-assemble gears,
bases, and connectors. Different size gears let you explore gear motions, speeds,
and turn ratios and have fun too!
Step 3
Step 1
connect a small and a large base together. Place a small gear on the large base.
What size gear to you need to put on the other base to make the gear teeth mesh?
(large) Gear teeth will mesh as long as the 2 gears used are the same sizes as the
2 bases used. For example – a medium and a large gear will mesh if you use a
medium and a large base. A small gear and a large gear will not mesh on a
small and a medium base.
Step 3 - Going Up
Start by connecting a large and a small base together. Put a large gear on the
large base. Put a large square pillar into the hole on the small base to begin
building vertical structures. Add a six-way axle and attach a small gear to the axle
making sure the teeth mesh at a right angle with the large gear on the base. Add
one small red pillar to the structure to support a medium gear in the vertical
position. Add 2 small red pillars to support a large gear (see sketch).
Step 4 - Stacking
Gears can be stacked one on top of the other. Gears fit directly into each other at
the center point.
BEYOND BASICS
Large square pillars are a universal fit with all bases, gears, and connectors.
Connect large square pillars to bases to build vertically. Connect them to gears or
six-way axles to build horizontally or vertically. Large square pillars, combined with
the small red pillars, allow you to achieve any height or width necessary to make
the gear teeth mesh.
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BUILDING BASICS
Step 1 - Build a Base
Attach bases together by sliding
side pegs into slots. Bases can
be arranged in many different
ways. Use your imagination to
build your favorite combination!
Step 2 - Add Gears
Step 4
Attach large, medium or small
gears to the bases. Line up the
center hole of the gear with the
peg on the base and place so
that the gear spins easily in either
direction. Attach more gears
Step 2
making sure the gear teeth
mesh. Start by attaching gears to
their respective size bases. Then
experiment with different size
gears and bases. For example,
Step 5 - Up and Over
Build in a horizontal direction by
attaching a large square pillar to
the side of a six-way axle. Use a
red pillar connector to attach two
large square pillars.
Step 6 - Leveling Off
The small red peg adapters snap
directly into the ends of the small
red pillars. These can be attached
to six-way axles or to red pillar
connectors to create an axle at the
end of a connector. You can use
these adapters and pillars to
change the height of gears as they
spin on their bases. These adapters allow you to make different levels of horizontal
gears. They also allow you to bring a gear on a vertical structure forward so the
vertical gear will mesh with different size gears on bases
GEAR-IFIC EXPERIMENTS!
Gears! Gears! Gears!
Factory is perfect for experimenting with simple
mechanics, machines, and science. There are many fascinating actions that can
be created using the different size gears. Here are a few experiments for you to try.
How Does it Spin?
Connect 2 bases together and add gears so that the teeth mesh. Spin the gears
and watch them move. Are the gears spinning in the same direction? Are the
gears moving at the same speed?
Spinning Speed
Place a large gear on a large base. Give it a quick spin with your finger and see
how fast it spins. Watch the hole on the side of the gear to see how many times the
gear spins. Connect another large base and gear to the first one and spin it again.
Does it spin faster or slower with 2 gears? Which set-up stops first? (Note: Try to use
the same amount of force each time you spin for accurate results).
Gear Ratios
Place a large gear on a large base and connect it to a small gear on a small base.
Spin the large gear around 1 time (use the hole in the side of the gear to measure).
How many times does the small gear spin? (2 times) Count the number of teeth on
the large gear (16) and the small gear (8). Do you see a relationship between the
number of teeth on the gears and the spin ratios? Add a medium base and gear to
the set up. How many times does the medium gear spin compared to the large
gear? (1
1
/
times)
2
WARNING:
!
© Learning Resources, Inc., Vernon Hills, IL (U.S.A.)
CHOKING HAZARD -
Small parts.
Learning Resources, Kings Lynn, Norfolk (U.K.)
Not for children under 3 years.
Step 5
Step 6
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