GearSketch is a free, web-based, drawing-based simulation tool that automatically converts your rough freehand sketches into functional, fully animated mechanical gear systems. Ideal for students, educators, and engineers, it eliminates the need for manual keyframing, complex CAD math, or physics constraints by instantly calculating gear interactions from your strokes. How to Build and Animate Diagrams in GearSketch
The tool features a minimal, four-button user interface designed to get mechanisms moving in seconds. 1. Draw to Create Gears
Spur Gears: Draw a rough freehand circle on the canvas. The software instantly snaps it into a perfectly shaped gear wheel with real teeth.
Interlocking Systems: Click and drag a gear or sketch a new circle right next to an existing one. When their edges touch, their teeth automatically mesh together.
Compound Gears (Shared Axles): Draw a smaller circle directly inside a larger circle. They lock onto the same axis, turning together at identical angular speeds. 2. Define the Motion and Speed
Set Direction: Click on a gear’s teeth to reveal a directional arrow. You can flip the arrow to change the input rotation between clockwise and counterclockwise.
Adjust Speed: Click and drag the arrow to change its size. A longer arrow speeds up the motor input, while a shorter arrow slows it down.
Automatic Gear Ratios: The system naturally handles the physics. A larger gear will automatically drive a smaller gear at a faster rotation speed based on their size ratio. 3. Connect Components with Chains and Belts
Pulley Systems: To connect distant gears, draw a continuous loop that orbits around the outside of the gears.
Chain Simulation: The tool instantly renders a drive belt or chain. It drives all connected gears in the same direction, rather than the alternating directions of intermeshed teeth. 4. Editing and Sharing Your Work
Erasing Elements: To remove a gear or a belt, draw a single strike-through line directly across it.
Testing: Press the Play button to watch the entire kinetic diagram animate in real time.
Cloud Saving: Click the Cloud button to generate a unique, shareable URL. Anyone opening this link can view, interact with, and build upon your specific mechanism. Simple Mechanical Animation Mechanism – Instructables