Page 238 - Making things move_ DIY mechanisms for inventors, hobbyists, and artists
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216 Making Things Move
3. Open a new file in Inkscape. Choose File | Document Properties from the menu
bar to open the Document Properties window. Change the default units in the
upper-right corner to inches. Back in the main window, change the rulers from
pixels to inches in the toolbar. Your screen should look like Figure 7-28. Close
the Document Properties window.
4. Choose Extensions | Render | Gear from the menu bar. You’ll see a small Gear
window that gives you three options: Number of teeth; Circular pitch, px; and
Pressure angle. Leave the Pressure angle setting at 20.0, since 20° is standard
for off-the-shelf gears and a good place to start. Set the other options as
desired for your gear. In Figure 7-29, you can see that I chose 28 teeth with a
circular pitch of 24. Click Apply, and then click Close.
5. Since gears are no fun by themselves, repeat steps 3 and 4 to make at least
one more gear. I created a second gear with 14 teeth.
FIGURE 7-28 Changing document settings in new Inkscape file
