Epicyclic gearing

An epicyclic gear train is a gear reduction assembly consisting of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other. A carrier connects the centers of the two gears and rotates to carry the planet gear(s) around the sun gear. The planet and sun gears mesh so that their pitch circles roll without slip.

If the sun gear is held fixed, then a point on the pitch circle of the planet gear traces an epicycloid curve.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC0

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