Thames & Kosmos Geared-Up Gadgets User manual

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Thames  Kosmos,  Friendship St., Providence, RI, , USA | --- | www.thamesandkosmos.com
Thames  Kosmos UK LP,  Stone Street, Cranbrook, Kent, TN HE, UK |   | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk

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and Safety
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Technical product development: Genius Toys Taiwan Co., Ltd.; Dr. Petra Müller
Author: Thames  Kosmos, and Rainer Köthe
Manual Layout: Peggy Bertram and Annabell Goldacker, media GmbH,
Freiberg, Germany
Manual design concept: Atelier Bea Klenk, Berlin
Manual illustrations: Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd., Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.,
and Thames  Kosmos
Manual photos:
© Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA .; , inside back:, By University of
Cambridge_Profs. Malcolm Burrows Gregory Sutton (Interactive_gears_in_
the_hind_legs_of_Issus_coleoptratus_from_Cambridge_gears-.jpg; , inside
back: pjt (Issus_coleoptratus); : Gigo
© stock.adobe.com: masik, .
All remaining images: Thames  Kosmos, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH 
Co. KG, and Genius Toy Taiwan Co., Ltd.
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st English Edition ©  Thames  Kosmos, LLC, Providence, RI, U.S.A.
® Thames  Kosmos is a registered trademark of Thames & Kosmos, LLC.
Author: Thames  Kosmos, and Rainer Köthe
Manual Layout: Mark Geary
Editing: Camille Duhamel, Ted McGuire
Additional Graphics and Packaging: Dan Freitas
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We reserve the right to make technical changes.
Printed in Taiwan / Imprimé en Taiwan
› › › SAFETY INFORMATION
Warning! Not suitable for children under 3
years. Choking hazard — small parts may be
swallowed or inhaled.
Keep the packaging and the instructions as
they contain important information.
Store the experiment materials and
assembled models out of the reach of small
children.
The models are intended for indoor use. Do
not use your models in a sandbox. Do not use
the hand mixer with food.
Clear sufficient space before launching the
models. Keep small children or animals
away when launching the models (in order
to prevent nearby objects from breaking).
Before starting the experiments, read
through the instruction manual together
with your child and discuss the safety
information. Check to make sure the models
have been assembled correctly, and assist
your child with the experiments.
We hope you and your child have a lot of
fun with the experiments!
Dear Parents and Adults,

4
Geared Gadgets
› › › SAFETY INFORMATION
Geared-Up Gadgets
› › › GOOD TO KNOW
AMAZING FACTS!
For a long time, gear systems were considered to be
an exclusively human invention. So when a group
of British biologists discovered an insect with its
very own gear system some years ago, their finding
was all the more astonishing. The insect in question
was the larva of the Issid Planthopper (scientific
name Issus coleoptratus), a tiny creature just a few
millimeters in size.
Of course, they can only take off cleanly if both
hind legs move at the exact same time and push
off with the exact same force. Otherwise, the little
››› These insects tend to get around
by jumping: if disturbed, they use
their powerful hind legs to send
themselves shooting upward.
creature will find itself hurtling off into a spiral,
possibly lurching and making for easy prey. This
synchronized movement is ensured by a minuscule
gear system, consisting of two interlocking structures
attached to the insect’s legs
This means that the real inventor of the
gear wheel is in fact Mother Nature, and
she was using it millions of years before
humans even existed!

1
Geared-Up Gadgets
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24 31
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Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off
› › › KIT CONTENTS
No. Description Qty. Item No.
1Short anchor pin 30 717767
2Anchor pin 10 702527
3Joint pin 3 702524
4Shaft pin 1 702526
5Shaft plug 2 702525
6Two-to-one converter 2 716889
7 90-degree converter - Y 4 716884
8 90-degree converter - X 2 716682
91-hole connector 6 719233
10 Curved rod 2 716310
11 3-hole cross rod 4 717899
12 3-hole rod 3 719234
13 5-hole rod 3 716876
14 5-hole cross rod 4 716677
15 9 hole rod 1 717806
16 11-hole rod 2 716304
17 Angled arm 4 720731
No. Description Qty. Item No.
18 3-hole cross connector 1 720729
19 3-hole crank 2 720730
20 Square frame 3 718936
21 Axle, 35 mm 1 716861
22 Axle, 70 mm 2 713490
23 Axle, 150 mm 1 703518
24 Small gear 5 716885
25 Medium gear 1 716890
26 5-hole axle rod 2 720737
27 Helicopter blade 2 720736
28 Rubber band, small 2 702596
29 Washer 1 703242
30 Anchor pin lever 1 702590
31 Large body piece A 2 720732
32 Small body piece left 1 720733
33 Small body piece right 1 720734
34 Large body piece B 3 720735
555060-02-200418

2
GEAR
40 teeth
Driven gear
2
0 teeth
Driv
er gear
(2:1)
Velocity
ratio =
= =
Number teeth driven gear
Number teeth driver gear
40
20
1
2
Kit Contents ............................................... 1
Table of Contents.................................... 2
Check It Out.............................................. 3
Overview................................................... 4
1. Rescue Helicopter............................... 5
2. Spinner Toy ........................................10
3. Hand Mixer .........................................14
4. Aircraft Launcher ............................18
5. Flying Scooters..................................22
Check It Out ...........................................25
› › › TABLE OF CONTENTS
On page 4 you can see all the models at
a glance.
Learn amazing information about gears
pages 3 and 25.
TIPS FOR ASSEMBLY
THE ANCHOR PIN LEVER
Side A of the lever can be used to
easily remove anchor pins.
Side B can be used to loosen firmly
inserted parts, such as axle plugs.

Geared-Up Gadgets
3
› › › CHECK IT OUT
››› Hold two of the gear wheels together, so that the
cogs on the edges (the “teeth”) interlock. Turn one
of the wheels. The other wheel will turn as well,
automatically moving along with the first gear. This
demonstrates that interlocking gear wheels can
transmit a rotational movement.
Pay close attention to the direction of rotation: The
second wheel turns differently than the first one.
When the gear wheels
have different diameters
and, as a result, a
different number of
teeth, their rotational
speeds will also be different. The larger wheel turns
slower than the smaller one.
This shows that gear wheels can be used to convert
a slow rotational movement into a faster rotational
movement and vice versa. For example, if the larger
gear wheel has 40 teeth and the smaller wheel has
10, the smaller wheel will complete 4 rotations in the
time it takes the larger wheel to do one rotation. This
relationship between the input speed and the output
speed is known as the gear ratio. In this case, the ratio
is 1:4.
››› Use your other hand to slow down the second gear
wheel while you turn the first wheel. You will notice
that you need to apply a lot of force. This shows that
interlocking gear wheels also transmit force.
Two gear wheels on parallel shafts are known as spur
gears. If you want to transmit a rotational movement to
an axle standing perpendicular to the gear wheel, you
can use a bevel gear (you’ll use two of those for your
helicopter model). It’s also possible to arrange multiple
gear wheels one after the other to convert a slow
rotational movement into one or multiple very quick
rotational movements — as you’ll see when making the
hand mixer model.
Gear trains can be found inside many machines and
devices. For example, in mechanical clocks, the kind
you might see in a museum, gear wheels enable the
movement of a gear wheel propelled by a spring or
weights to be transmitted to the hands of the clock
.
Thanks to the different gear ratios, the hands can move
quickly (the second hand), slowly (the minute hand), or
even slower (the hour hand).
This means that you can usually choose between
multiple “gears,” that is, you can switch between
various different gear ratios.
This has a significant advantage, as gear trains don’t
just transmit rotational speeds, they also transmit
force. Cycling is easiest when you can keep pedaling at
the same speed. If you want to cycle over flat terrain
or downhill, you can switch into a high gear in the rear.
This connects the crankset with a much smaller gear on
the rear wheel. The force from the pedals is converted
into a much greater driving force making the bike move
faster.
If you’re cycling uphill, you can switch to a large gear
in the rear and a small gear in front. This allows you
to apply a smaller force on the pedals and turn them
at a faster rate but the rear wheel will rotate a larger
amount.
Before building any of the models,
you should carry out the following
little experiment.
››› In the field of engineering, two or more
interconnected gear wheels are called a
gear train, or transmission. They come in
many different shapes and sizes.
››› Bicycles generally have a chain drive,
in which gear wheels of various sizes are
connected by a chain.

4
11
24
16
20
28
› › › OVERVIEW
Rescue
Helicopter
Hand
Mixer
Aircraft
Launcher
Spinner
Flying
Scooters
Centripetal
force machine

Geared-Up Gadgets
5
12
3
5
6
4
16
14
14
14
x2
x2
RESCUE HELICOPTER

6
78
9
10
11
13
x2
RESCUE HELICOPTER

Geared-Up Gadgets
7
12
13
14
15
16
14
15
23
21
RESCUE HELICOPTER

8
B
17
18
19
22
22
RESCUE HELICOPTER

Geared-Up Gadgets
9
Done!
OK.
21
20
22 23
13
20
21
22
23
24
RESCUE HELICOPTER

10
123
4
6
7
M2 SPINNER
14 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
14
13
SPINNER TOY

11
Geared-Up Gadgets
8
9
10
11
15
28
22
x2
SPINNER TOY

12
12
13
14
16
15
14
13
13
14
22
x2
SPINNER TOY

13
Geared-Up Gadgets
Done!
Spin the top and
then let go!
17
18
19
20 21
SPINNER TOY

14
1
3
5
4
6
M3 HAND MIXER
16
15
14
14
12
3
4
5
6
16
15 14 14
HAND MIXER

Geared-Up Gadgets
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7
12
11
10
9
13
13
7
12
11
10
9
13
13
7
8
910
11
12
13
13
HAND MIXER

16
13 14
15
17 X2
14
3
13 14
15
17 X2
14
3
13 14
15
17 X2
14
3
13 14
15
16
17
22
23
22
x2
HAND MIXER

Geared-Up Gadgets
17
Done!
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19 20
HAND MIXER