Planetary Gearbox/ Minecraft Sundial

Planetary gearboxes are compact, efficient systems that distribute rotational motion through multiple gears arranged around a central sun gear. They are important because they provide high torque in a small space while maintaining precise speed control. These gearboxes are widely used in applications such as robotics, automotive transmissions, industrial machinery, and aerospace systems. Their unique design allows for durability, smooth operation, and the ability to handle heavy loads efficiently. In this project, I made a planetary gearbox using Fusion 360 and also turned it into a lookalike of the Minecraft Sun Dial.

Fusion 360

3D printer (or your friend's)

Hot Glue Gun

CAD your gears, spinner, and base for the sundial. There should be 4 gears in total: 2 small spur gears, 1 big spur gear, and one internal gear. You can use the Fusion 360 GF Gear Generator utility for this. If you don't have it, download it from the web store and put it under your ADD-INS. You can use the preset measurements I have given for this step. Remember to add a little clearance using the Offset Face tool under Modify. Print two of the smallest one (I did 4 just in case). If you want your gears to be bigger or smaller, you can scale the number of teeth up or down. Remember to add clearance.

For the sundial cover, make a semicircle with a tab and the Sun and Moon shapes. The semicircle should be half of your internal gear. Make the edges longer so it can rest on the internal gear when glued. Make the Sun and Moon shapes able to be fit on your small gears.

3D print your gears, base, and rotator piece. Hot glue the internal gear together with the base and the big spur gear with the rotator piece. Make sure it all works.

3D print your cover, Sun, and Moon and hot glue them. Hot glue your Sun and Moon pieces to two different gears and hot glue your cover to the internal gear once you have put your two gears inside.

Spin your sundial and put it up for display!