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Like most things with
slot cars, there are a few ways of achieving the same thing.
These are 2 suggestions that work, and will at least get you
going.
The process is pretty much the same for setting in-line Crown
and Pinion, or Spur and Pinion setups.
For this exercise, we
will describe the sidewinder and angle winder set-ups using spur
gears.
For inline set-ups,
the motor is screwed or soldered in position first, then the
Crown gear is adjusted in the same manner as described below for
setting the motor, by pushing the Crown gear towards the pinion,
etc.
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By Feel.
Set the side
clearance in the axle and lock the gear and wheel/s, so
the axle spins freely with excessive side play.
Hold the motor in position and engage the pinion with
the spur gear, then rotate the wheels in the normal
forward direction and find the tightest point of mesh.
Most gears are not perfect and will sit on the axle at a
slight angle which makes the gear run slightly out of
round.
Once you have found the tightest position, adjust the
motor for clearance so that you can feel a slight back
and forth movement in the spur, but the movement is hard
to see. A bit hard to explain, but you can actually feel
the backlash more than you can see it.
In my simple terms, set it so that you can just feel the
movement, but can't see it.
Once you get to that point, screw or solder the motor
in.
Check the
clearance to make sure nothing has moved, and away you
go.
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Using a Spacer
Set the side
clearance in the axle and lock the gear and wheel/s, so
the axle spins freely with excessive side play.
To set the backlash in this method we will use spacer
made from a thin piece of paper, or flexible plastic
sheet about 0.05mm (0.004") thick. You will need a
piece about 6mm wide x about 25 long (or longer) so that
you can handle it OK. Have it ready for the next
step.
As in the
first method, hold the motor in position and engage the
pinion with the spur gear, then rotate the wheels in the
normal forward direction and find the tightest point of
mesh.
Once you have found the tightest position, make note of
where the grub screw in the gear is positioned, so that
you can return the gear to that same point, move the
motor away from the gear, then insert the spacer between
the pinion and gear.
Push the motor
firmly towards the gear clamping the spacer between the
gears, while ensuring that the grub screw in the gear is
in the same position as noted before.
Once you get to that point, screw or solder the motor
in.
Remove the
spacer, check the clearance to ensure it is OK, and away
you go, ...hopefully.
It may take a
bit of practice to work out what thickness spacer to
use, and how hard to push the motor against the spacer,
but once you get it right, you will be able to repeat
the process without thinking about it too much..
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