Interchanging Single Speed Gearbox &

Product Requirements
Skylar Ovnicek
Dwain Stucker
Austin Beyer
Hussain Em’ailo
Document History

Revision Date: Modified By: Reason:

Number:

0 7th Skylar Ovnicek/Dwain Initial Release

February Stucker
2019

1 28th March Skylar Ovnicek dFEMA Addition and Minor Changes

2019 to Product Requirements

2 7th April Austin Beyer dFEMA Update, Table of Contents

2019

3 23rd April Skylar Ovnicek Update Gearbox Overview,

2019 Breakdown, Completed dFEMA
Report Added, Appendices

4 25th April Skylar Ovnicek Conclusion Summary and Reflection

2019

5 28th April Dwain Stucker Updating FBD’s

2019

6 28th April Skylar Ovnicek Captioning FBD’s

2019

7 29th6 April Skylar Ovnicek/Dwain Recommendations Section

2019 Stucker/Austin Beyer
Contents
Gearbox Overview .......................................................................................................................... 3
Objective ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Gearbox Purpose/Overview ........................................................................................................ 3
Motor Driver and Input Shaft .................................................................................................. 4
Gear 1 (Pink Motor Gear) ........................................................................................................ 4
Gear 2 (Yellow Crown Gear) .................................................................................................. 4
Gear 3 (Blue Gear) .................................................................................................................. 5
Gear 4 (Yellow Hex Gear)....................................................................................................... 5
Output Shaft............................................................................................................................. 6
Functional Requirements ................................................................................................................ 6
User Interface Requirements ....................................................................................................... 6
What the product should do ........................................................................................................ 6
Mechanical Requirements ............................................................................................................... 6
Strength Requirements ................................................................................................................ 6
Spatial Requirements................................................................................................................... 7
Mounting / Interface Requirements............................................................................................. 7
Appearance Requirements........................................................................................................... 7
Electrical Requirements .................................................................................................................. 7
Operational Voltage .................................................................................................................... 7
Software Requirements ................................................................................................................... 7
Functionality................................................................................................................................ 7
User Interface .............................................................................................................................. 8
Regulatory Requirements................................................................................................................ 8
Shipping Requirements ............................................................................................................... 8
Cost Requirements .......................................................................................................................... 8
Purchasing Value......................................................................................................................... 8
dFEMA Report................................................................................................................................ 9
Cause/Controls Analysis and Recommendations ...................................................................... 10
Component: Axle................................................................................................................... 10
Component: Gear (Gear Teeth Wear) ................................................................................... 10
Component: Locknut Screw .................................................................................................. 10
 Component: Gear (Warping) ................................................................................................. 11
Component: Gear (Jammed/Obstructed) ............................................................................... 11
Product Analysis Summary........................................................................................................... 11
Summary ................................................................................................................................... 11
Reflection .................................................................................................................................. 12
Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 13
Single Speed Gearbox Part Drawings ....................................................................................... 13
Motor Gear ............................................................................................................................ 13
Crown Gear............................................................................................................................ 14
Blue Gear ............................................................................................................................... 15
Hex-Gear ............................................................................................................................... 16
Hex-Shaft ............................................................................................................................... 17
Hex-Nut ................................................................................................................................. 18
References ................................................................................................................................. 19
Cited Documents ................................................................................................................... 19

Gearbox Overview
Objective
The purpose of the document is to present the requirements and tasks for a single speed gearbox
to be used and integrated into electronic/mechanical systems requiring an accurate rotation of an
axle.

Gearbox Purpose/Overview
The single speed gear box supplied by Tamiya was the assembly of our product analysis. The
overall assembly was pretty simple, consisting of several gear variations, a motor, a shaft, and an
axle.
This gearbox is designed to operate with simple/basic code applications and commands. One of
the most popular applications that this device is used with is the Software program, Arduino.
Once the appropriate commands are relayed to the motor that operates the gearbox, forces and
torques are then transferred through the gear train assembly to the output shaft.
Motor Driver and Input Shaft
The gear train is allowed to be altered by the customer into four different configurations to
deliver desired speed and torque outputs as needed. For this document, the gear train ratio of
344.2:1 was used.
Our analysis did not focus on the
motor that was used in the
assembly. However, it needs to
be noted for the axial forces that
are inputted to the gear train. At
no load, this motor shaft output
will operate at 12,300 RPM’s,
and will stall at a max input
torque of 36gf-cm (.031lbf-in).
Because it is not desirable for the
product to function that closely
to the stall point, the Figure 1: Display of the motor assembly in the gear configuration that this
manufactures appear to use a factor of document uses for analysis. Image from “Tamiya.com”
safety of about 6. This results in the input torque of approximately 6gf-cm. With our current gear
train assembly, this will lead to a shaft output of 38 RPM’s, and a stall torque of 2276gf-cm
(1.98lbf-in).

Note: There appears to be a discrepancy in motor specs.

This will be further discussed in the Reflection section.
For analysis, Input Torque=6gf-cm and Input
Speed=13000RPM’s

Gear 1 (Pink Motor Gear)

This gear attaches to the input motor directly and the
reaction forces are then transferred to the crown gear.
The pink gear will have the same RPMs as delivered by
the input motor. As a result, this pink gear will always
spin with a speed of 13000 RPM’s and a torque of 6gf-
cm (.031lbf-in). This pink gear consists of 8 teeth and
Figure 2: Image of the transfer of force and torque
has dimension. Additional information regarding this onto the Motor gear that is directly attached to the
gear and its dimensions can be referenced in Appendix motor output shaft
Motor Gear.

Gear 2 (Yellow Crown Gear)

This Crown gear is used to change the axis from which the forces are transferred for the rest of
the system. The reason for this is because the orientation of the input motor shaft is
perpendicular to the axle and shaft that hold the rest of the gears in the gear train. The teeth on
the outside (crown) of this gear is 34 and the teeth on the inside of the gear number 12. Because
of the gear relation between the crown gear and gear connected to the input motor shaft, the gear
ratio is 4.25. This means that the torque that the crown gear has transferred to it is 4.25 times the
input, which is 36gf-cm is multiplied by
4.25, resulting in a torque on the crown gear
of 153gf-cm and a speed of 2894RPM’s.
Additional information regarding this gear
and its dimensions can be referenced in
Appendix Crown Gear.

Gear 3 (Blue Gear)

This gear has 36 teeth on the outside of the
gear, and 12 teeth on the inside of the gear.
For the gear train analysis that we are
conducting, there are three of these gears that
are used. The gears mount onto the Figure 3: Image of the Crown gear with its forces been
respective shafts loosely to reduce the loss of transferred from the motor gear and onto the first of the Blue
gears
power/torque/speed through the system.
From the Crown gear, there are three 3:1 gear relations. These gear ratios mean that the speed is
reduced by a factor of 3 three times, while the torque is increased by a factor of 3 three times.
The results of this is an end torque (at the last blue gear before the Hex-Gear) of 12393gf-cm and
a speed reduction to 152 RPM’s. Additional information regarding these gears and its
dimensions can be referenced in Appendix Blue Gear.

Figure 4: Assembly order is shown from left to right. The first gear is in contact with the crown gear and the
second blue gear shown in the center here. The second gear is then transferring forces and torque shown on the
third blue gear on the far right

Gear 4 (Yellow Hex Gear)

The gear with the hex connection has 36 teeth on the outside of the gear, and is the last gear in
the assembly before being connected to the hexagonal output shaft. The gear is designed with a
hex-nut housing centered at the center of the gear. The hex-nut is then mounted on the shaft and
placed into the gear housing. With all the parts in place, the lock (screw) on the hex-nut is then
tightened to connect the gear to the output shaft. This transfers all the torque that has been
transferred to this gear is in turn transferred directly to the output shaft. The relation of this gear
to the previous blue gear (described above) is another 3:1 gear ratio. The resulting output torque
is 2276gf-cm and output of 38 RPM’s. Additional information regarding these gears and its
dimensions can be referenced in Appendix Hex-Gear.
Output Shaft
Because the output shaft is fixed to the Yellow Hex Nut
Gear, they both have the same speed and torque. As a
result, the shaft delivers 2276gf-cm (1.98lbf-in) with a
speed of 38 RPM’s. The dimensions of the shaft are
10cmx.3cmx.3cm (at widest and longest points). The
form of the shaft however is the shape of a hexagon.
Additional information regarding this gear and its
dimensions can be referenced in Appendix Hex Shaft.
Figure 5: Image of the hex gear reacting to the

Functional Requirements
torque and force delivered by the third blue gear
and transfer the forces and torque onto the gearbox
axle shaft

User Interface Requirements

The product will need to be simply constructed for the consumer to assemble upon purchase
 The gearbox will need to respond to common coding programs used in small consumer
projects (Such as Arduino)
 The gear box will need to be capable of achieving a max torque of 2276 gf-cm (in one of
its configurations)
 The gearbox will need to be capable of achieving an angular velocity of 1039 rpm’s (in
one of its configurations
 The gearbox will need to be capable of configuring to 3+ configurations to provide the
user with the most optimal capabilities of speed and torque for the user's specific
needs/requirements
 The gearbox and gears will need to be capable of changing directions quickly,
consistently, and reliably over a prolonged amount of time (~15,000 hours of use)

What the product should do

 The gearbox needs to allow quick and accurate responses to command codes that will
control the gearbox
 The gear ratios will need to be interchangeable to provide varying torques and speeds to
be decided and adjusted by the consumer for their own means

Mechanical Requirements
Strength Requirements
The motor shall be rated to the greatest torque specifications that will be supplied to the
consumer (Max Torque of 2276 gf-cm).
Spatial Requirements
The gearbox shall fit with in the following dimensions:

- Length < 7 cm
- Width < 4.5 cm (Not including axle drive)
- Height < 2.5 cm

Mounting / Interface Requirements

The gear box shall be capable of mounting to two different recommended platforms:

 One platform shall consist of a plain piece of material (wood, plastic, metal, etc.) that
will have 2.5mm holes pre drilled by the customer. The motor will then be able to be
mounted using two 3 x 8mm tapping screws provided.
 The second mounting method will be with a project mounting plate with a various
amount of holes placed in the material. The gearbox will then be able to be mounted
using a 3 x 10mm screw and nut application to secure the gearbox

Figure 6: Cut-Away image of the Tamiya Single Speed Gear box

Appearance Requirements in the 344.2:1 Configuration that is analyzed in this document

To aid in the assembly and adjustable gear

ratios, the gears will be able to be identified
by color to simplify instruction to the
consumer.

Electrical
Requirements
Operational Voltage
The supplied motor will need to run a voltage supply of 3V.

Software Requirements
Functionality
The goal of this product is to supplement electrical/mechanical systems such as Arduino and the
like.
User Interface
The gearbox functionality will depend on the capabilities of the customer to properly command
the gearbox/motor system for their desired purposes.

Regulatory Requirements
Shipping Requirements
The product shall be able to fit inside an 11cm x 14cm x 3cm box in its deconstructed state to
minimize the cost of shipping to the costumer

Cost Requirements
Purchasing Value
The purpose of this device is to provide a cheap and useful supplement to light duty projects and
experiments. As such, the charging cost to the consumer should not exceed $10.00 (US). This
goal shall be calculated in future planning for designing and development of this device.
S ys t e m Single Speed Gear Box Potential F M E A N um be r 3
S ubs ys t e m Gear Train Failure Mode and Effects Analysis P re pa re d B y Skylar Ovnicek
C o m po ne nt Gears/Lo ck Nut/A xle Shaft/ (Design FMEA) F M EA D ate 4/23/2019
D e s ign Le a d Skylar Ovnicek Ke y D a t e 4/23/2019 R e v is io n D a t e 4/23/2019
C o re T e a m Dwain Stucker, Austin Beyer, Hussain Emailo P a ge 1 of 1

A c t io n R e s ult s
P o t e nt ia l P R e s po ns ibilit y &
P o t e nt ia l S D R
P o t e nt ia l C a us e ( s ) / r C urre nt D e s ign R e c o m m e nde d T a rge t
C o m po ne nt It e m / F unc t io n Effect(s) e e P A c t io ns T a k e n
F a ilure M o de ( s ) M e c ha nis m ( s ) o C o nt ro ls A c t io n( s ) C o m ple t io n
o f F a ilure v t N
New Det

New Sev
New Occ

o f F a ilure b D ate
New RPN

Axle T orque Bending Uneven/ 6 Excessive 5 Axle supported 4 120 Sw itch for a Implement 6 2 4 48
Delivery to Inconsistant Loading by plastic strong material stronger
Consumers Delivery of casing on both axle 5/25/2019 material
application P ow er/T orque sides of gear
set
Gear T ransfering Excessive P ossible 6 P rolonged Use 5 P lastic gear, 4 120 Sw itch for Redesign of 5 2 4 40
dFEMA Report

T orque/P ow er Wear on T eeth failure to moderate tooth lightw eight Gears for
T hrough the transfer spacing metal higher
5/26/2019
Sytem torque/pow er gears/tigther tolerance and
properly tooth spacing w eight
reduction
Gear T ransfering Warping Inconsistant/ 6 Hot 3 P lastic gear, 4 72 Sw itch for Replace plastic 6 1 4 24
T orque/P ow er Deformation Failure to Enviroment/ casing vents lightw eight gears w ith
T hrough the Deliver Over Heating provide some metal gear 5/27/2019 metal gears
Sytem T orque/P ow er Due to air flow
P rolonged Use
Lock Nut T ransfering Becoming Fail to Deliver 5 Becoming 3 Fits snug to 4 60 Increase Design/use 5 1 4 20
T orque/P ow er Unlocked/ P ow er/T orque Stripped Due axle before number of Locknut w ith
from Gears to Unsecured to consumers to Over tightening threads to 5/28/2019 higher
Axle application T ightening increase numbers of
friction threads
Gear T ransfering Becoming Fail to Deliver 3 Debris 6 Gears are open 4 72 Add a plastic Addition of 3 2 4 24
T orque/P ow er Jammed/ P ow er/T orque entering to enviroment w indow to plastic
T hrough the Obstructed to consumers system due to elements from view gears 5/29/2019 w indow to
Sytem application exposed parts the top view w hile keeping design
debris out
Lock Nut Securing hex Becoming Fail to Secure 5 Becoming 4 Fits snug to 4 80 Increase depth Increase 5 2 4 40
Screw nut to axle Stripped/Lose Lock nut to Stripped Due axle before of screw depth/bite of
shaft shaft and fail to Over tightening thread 5/30/2019 screw
to deliver force T ightening

Gear T ransfer of Breaking or Fail to Deliver 8 Cold 1 Hard plastic 4 32 Sw itch for Use light 8 1 4 32
forces through Shattering of P ow er/T orque Enviroment/ w / resonable lightw eight w eight metal
system the gears to consumers Excessive rating metal gear gear instead of
5/31/2019
application Directional (undisclosed plastic
Changes material/rating
)
Cause/Controls Analysis and Recommendations
Component: Axle
RPN Number: 120
Because the axle is a core component of the gear box, the axle bending or becoming
deformed/dislodged would at best lead to inconsistent (skipping) performance, or at worst lead
to the self-destruction of the gear box assembly. Torque will always be a factor, so fatigue is
unavoidable, it’s the primary function of the axle to transmit loads, but the combination of
torqueing loads and gear reaction forces can cause the gearing to skip teeth which can lead to
premature failure and unsatisfactory performance. While errors in skipping provide visual and
audible warning, replacing the axle requires complete disassembly of the gearbox. Our
recommendations would be to perform a fatigue analysis of the axle as to discover at what
loads it is liable to start deforming, if the results shows fatigue during operating torques then a
stronger material should be chosen for the axle.

Component: Gear (Gear Teeth Wear)

RPN Number: 120
The main cause for this RPN number is because of the likely and inevitable wear that will be
experienced by the gears with excessive wear. As a result of the inevitability of wear on
components, the probability of the failure experienced on this component is much higher relative
to the other components in the assembly. As the gears are essential for the gearbox to function as
it is intended, any consequential failure has a significant impact on the assembly. For prolonged
use, we recommended a couple of options. The first solution to reduce wear on the teeth would
be to supply an application of lubrication to the system. Reducing the friction between gears
would reduce the friction experienced between gears, and subsequently wear down of the teeth.
Another solution that is a little more costly would be to replace the plastic gears with an
alternative metal material. Replacing the existing plastic gears with metal alternatives would
possibly reduce the coefficient of friction between gears, as well as increase the yield strength
compared to the plastic. The replacement of the current plastic gears with a metal alternative
would in turn increase the usable life of the assembly.

Component: Locknut Screw

RPN Number: 80
The hex nut screw that locks the nut, and intern locking the hex gear, to the output shaft received
a moderate RPN score in our analysis. We believed that the probability of this component was
high because of the size of the components being pretty small and the ease of which a large
amount of force can be applied when securing the lock nut to the shaft. Additionally, we believed
that repeated securing and un-securing of the nut would generate significant wear on the
component than other parts in the assembly will. If repetitive use/securing and un-securing are
going to be inevitable or designed around, our team has a couple of suggestions to avoid the
failure of this component. Increasing the depth of the threads and screw would increase the life
and usability of the component without failure for a longer amount of time. Changing the
materials of either/both materials that observe significant wear that may lead to failure is another
suggestion that we have to prolong the life of the locknut assembly.

Component: Gear (Warping)

RPN Number: 72
Another concern that we had for the gears in the gearbox assembly was the possibility of the
warping of the gears. Because of the assembly being dependent on the gears effectively and
efficiently transferring forces/torques through the system, the severity of the failure was
significant on the RPN score. We don’t believe that the probability of this failure occurring is
likely because it would occur only in a select few circumstances, such as significantly warm
environments or running constant for a prolonged period of time. To negate this failure our team
suggests the replacement of the existing plastic gears with light weight metal gears that will take
a more extreme and unusual heating load before failure.

Component: Gear (Jammed/Obstructed)

RPN Number: 72
Due to the gears being the main working components of our system, a gear becoming jammed or
obstructed would result in a total system failure until the gear is freed and undamaged. This
failure mode is probable for our system due to the exposed casing surrounding the gear train.
However, with this casing, it would be fairly easy to remove any debris from the components
without having to dismantle the system. A solution to prevent this failure mode would be to
install clear plastic windows to the casing to fill any holes exposing the gears. In doing so, the
operator would still be able to view the gear train, but eliminate the possibility of any outside
debris from entering the system.

Product Analysis Summary

Summary
This product has been designed with the intent of providing an accurate, efficient, and reliable
source of power and torque that can satisfy a variety of consumer applications. This product has
also been designed with low costing materials that achieve most all possible consumer
applications while limiting the ending cost to the customer. Overall, this product is pretty reliable
and has a low risk of damaging the product itself or possibly injuring those that may use the
product except. However, there are a couple of scenarios that could damage the product or
potential injury while operating. Excessive loading and prolonged use are the most likely causes
that put the device or the operator at risk. The wear and damages due to the likely causes will
most likely be observed on the axle due to a customer overloading the system, or the device
being used continuously for long periods of time. The likely hood of these scenarios however are
pretty small because it would require use exceeding large mass and prolonged use exceeding
150,000 hours. Because of the very low demand for our device to meet standards such as these,
we believe that this is an overall effective and sufficient device for common applications and
users. If a device were needed to exceed the practical applications that this gearbox was designed
for, the dFEMA report and Design Recommendations section can be referenced to improve
performance and reduce chances of failure for respective components.

Reflection
What gave this product the higher RPN’s that were outliers from the other analyzed components
wasn’t the probability or detectability, but the potential severity that could occur if a failure did
occur. All of the components analyzed received the same score of 4 for detectability. This
particular single speed gearbox is designed to be very simple and easy for the consumer to use.
As a result of the devices simplicity, there are no built in controls to stop the gearbox from
functioning if a failure occurs. The design controls to anticipate possible failure conditions would
have to be left to the customer and the personal coding conditions the selected to incorporate
when using this device. Therefore, if the customer did design their code with parameters
accounting for failure modes, there might be a “chance the design control will detect potential
failure”.
During our analysis, we examined the output forces and torques on the output shaft of the gear
box assembly. However, we did not analyze the reaction forces from the plastic frame of the
gearbox that support the shaft and gears. Because of the various configurations that a customer
can implement the gearbox and different load amounts that could be reacted/transferred, we
didn’t not include the analysis that support the shaft.
It was noted in the Gearbox Overview under the Motor Driver and Input Shaft section that there
was a discrepancy in the driver motor section that there was a discrepancy in the driver motor
information that was referenced for analysis. It was concluded that the likely reason for this was
that a new motor delivering the same amount of torque may have been replaced with a motor that
provides a higher speed output. Our team believes this a logical assumption with reasoning that,
since the original availability of our gearbox to consumers, the original motor that was used is no
longer available for purchase. With the original motor no longer available, we believe that an
improved motor has replaced it, causing a discrepancy in the data that was released with the
initial product release.
An additional consequence of motor input discrepancies is seen in our FBD’s in this document.
Because of our FBD’s being made prior to this acknowledged inconsistency, the units do not
convert. Therefore, the units and inputs mentioned in the text (with the units of gf-cm) are
correct and the units in the FBD’s are incorrect. With this though, the unit inputs in the FBD’s do
follow the correct format and procedures for transfers/reactions that occur in our assembly, just
that the initial input units are incorrect.
Appendices
Single Speed Gearbox Part Drawings
Motor Gear
Crown Gear
Blue Gear
Hex-Gear
Hex-Shaft
Hex-Nut
References
Cited Documents
Tamiya Single Gearbox (4-Speed) instruction/assembly Manual.
Tamiya Educational Construction Series No. 167
 (Figure 1)

“Pololu - Tamiya 980112M Mabuchi FA-130 Motor.” Pololu Robotics & Electronics, Pololu
Robotics & Electronics, 2019, www.pololu.com/product/77.

“Single Gearbox (4-Speed) Item No：70167.” Tamiya.com, Tamiya, 15 July 2006,

www.tamiya.com/english/products/70167gearbox/index.htm

 (Figure 6)