BACKGROUND:I’ve always loved mechanisms. How one simple movement can result in something seemingly unrelated happening in another location... I recently decided to model a watch movement. I was blown away by the mechanical genius that must have gone into the design of the first one! Seeing all those moving parts working perfectly together as a consequence of a simple turn of the stem is amazing.Although Orbit is nothing in complexity next to a watch, I’ve tried to keep that mentality in the design: one simple twist resulting in all sorts of other crazy movements. And though it might look complicated, following each gear will show the simplicity of the design.

ORBIT:There’s a ring of five axis points around the top half ring of the Orbit sphere. Each has a star with several ‘planets’ circled around the outside. When the key is turned, each of these stars will turn, while the planets will circle around them in the opposite direction. Due to the planetary geared Base Unit, the chassis itself will also turn on the Y axis. It could almost be seen as the revolving galaxy that houses the solar systems!

PARTS:Orbit is made up of two main units: the Base Unit, and the Orbit Sphere. The Orbit Sphere can work independently – by inserting the key into any of the three key-slot locations and turning, Orbit will come to life. Two speeds can be achieved depending on the chosen slot. When placing The Orbit sphere on the Base unit, and twisting the key, the entire sphere will spin.

ASSEMBLY:I was a bit worried about the possibility of printing this, so I’ve left 0.5mm clearance around axis points, and around 0.4mm between gear teeth, I hope it’s enough (but not too much!). The full assembly has been mated correctly in SolidWorks, ready for printing. Feel free to have a play to visualise the mechanism. Just twist the Key on top!