UGEARS TOWER WINDMILL

The Tower Windmill from Ugears is more than a mechanical model. It is an exciting adventure into the history of old England designed in “Victorian steampunk skeleton” style. The model is based on the Chesterton Windmill, a 17th-century cylindrical stone tower windmill that was built outside the village of Chesterton, Warwickshire county. When spinning rapidly the aerodynamic twist sails create fairly strong wind. It also can work the other way around: blowing air directed at the sails will make them spin. Use a fan to demonstrate to your kids how real windmills operate. A double planetary gear reducer with differently shaped gears provides the necessary speed.

The model is powered by a removable rubber band motor. Once the motor is removed, the Windmill can work in a manual mode that allows you to observe and examine the fascinating complex mechanism in detail.

The rubber band motor drives the sails by means of a screw conveyor (worm feeder) and gear transmission. The design of the gear transmission includes a flexure link, the type of chain drive assembled out of many small links. The full-fledged chain drive made out of plywood has never been used in the Ugears models before. Resembling a spiral staircase, the rotating base of the arched tower is a part of the screw conveyor mechanism that is a chief part of the model’s mechanism. While taking origin from the English prototype, the Ugears also addresses the Spanish classic: the Tower Windmill kit comes with the figures of the Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote and his quirky companion Sancho Panza.