Planetary Gear Menorah v2

Last crawled date: 4 years, 3 months ago

This is version 2 of the planetary gear menorah I designed 4 years ago. I redesigned version 2 from the ground up. The printed parts are entirely snap together and it prints without support material (except for one part)!
Check out version 1 here: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Planetary-Gear-Menorah/
Building Guide
Print 2x Crank-Base-Connector_2x.stl and 8x Planet-Gear_8x.stl. Print one of all other parts. Consider printing a Planet-Insert-Test.stl before attempting to print the menorah to confirm your printer is capable of successfully printing the menorah.
In addition to the printed parts, you will also need:
27x - 6-32-5/16" Screw (McMaster: 91772A145)
9x - 3/8"-16 T-Nut (McMaster: 90611A450)
8x - Small, adhesive backed rubber feet (Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073W1B3G1/)
Note: You do not have to get these specific pads, they're just the ones I used.
User Guide
Screw the candles into the T-nuts. You may need to cut away bits of the bottom of the candle to make sure they fit inside. It is especially crucial to make sure the center candle (shamas/shamash) is inserted well such that it will not fall out when lit.
Gently pull back the handle to tilt the shamas and light the far candle. The far candle's orientation may need to be adjusted if the wicks don't line up. Gently push the lever back in to return to the center candle to the upright position.
Traditionally, menorahs are lit from right-to-left. However, most menorahs are not circular, making right-to-left or left-to-right a bit arbitrary, especially with all 9 candles. I think turning the crank (and thus the candles) clockwise is the closest to right-to-left when it comes to a circle. Turn the crank until the next candle is inline with the shamas, then pull the handle to light the next candle. Repeat until all candles are lit.
Watch version 1 being lit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NWZx5-LiVM
Note: This model is technically a hanukkiah since it's for Hanukkah. However, because "menorah" is the common term, I opted to call it such in hopes of expanding the accessibility of this project. Wikipedia even lists it under "menorah": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menorah_(Hanukkah)