Some of our readers might remember the game series The Incredible Machine. The objective was to improvise Rube Goldberg machines in each level. GearSketch might not be as entertaining as those games, but it definitely gives us an idea or two about gear and belt combinations. If you lose half an hour inside this page without realizing it, don't be alarmed.
If you want to play The Incredible Machine today, all roads lead to Good Old Games. The pack they offer there (with manuals and soundtrack) is impressive, and for less than four dollars you don't have to think twice. Now, if you find the graphics too dated, its original developers created Contraption Maker, which has excellent reviews on Steam. Not convinced yet? Well... let's think of something simpler and free. Gears, belts, and a browser. GearSketch!
Online and free gear simulator
GearSketch is a project from the University of Twente that dates back to early 2011. Designed as a tool intended for primary school students, what we actually find is an environment simple and attractive enough to entertain people of all ages.
The tutorial teaches us to draw gears with the mouse, place one on top of another, connect them using belts (or chains, if you prefer), set the direction of rotation or speed, and erase the content. Once the project is finished, we press Play to watch it in motion, and a click on the cloud icon generates a special URL that allows us to recover it at any time.
GearSketch has several limitations, no doubt about that. Drawing precisely sized gears is very difficult with the mouse, and some configurations require following a specific order, but that's part of the discovery. Personally, I don't think you'll get bored that quickly...
