Mechanical Odometer – 3-Digit Crank Counter
Print Profile(2)
Bill of Materials
Description
A fully mechanical 3-digit odometer that actually works like the real thing — crank the handle and watch the digits roll. One full turn of the crank = one full turn of the first wheel, carried over 10:1 gear trains to the next two digits, exactly like a car odometer or gas meter.
No springs. No glue. No hardware. The whole mechanism is a continuous gear train — 10 printed parts, snap-together assembly in about 5 minutes (11 steps, photo Assembly Guide included). Everything runs on chunky printed gears and snap-in axles, so it prints reliably and turns smoothly right off the bed.
Two print profiles:
- Multicolor — digits colored in the slicer (≈3h45 dual nozzle / 4h45 single + AMS)
- Single color — ≈3h, then color the raised digits with a sharpie for contrast (they're embossed 0.6 mm exactly for this)
- Print separately — You can use multiple plates to print in different colors, and then combine them. Use this approach to highlight different wheels, like in the GIF, or make intereesting color combinations.
Use it as a part in your projects. The counter is driven through a simple D-shaft — the crank is just one attachment. Pop it off and connect your own drive: the D-shaft spec is in the docs, and remixing is enabled, so build it into whatever needs counting — rotations, meters, laps, anything. A surveyor's measuring wheel designed around this counter is coming next on my profile — follow to catch it.
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Documentation (1)
License
You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including - but not limited to - remixes of this object, and hosting on other digital platforms). The objects may not be used without permission in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, or collect fees.
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