Spice Rack With Integrated Planetary Gear System

This project is a Ferris Wheel style rotating spice rack that uses a planetary gear system to keep the trays upright. I made it as a Christmas present for my Mom. It can hold 40 spices and allows for easy access to all of them. The majority of the work for this project was in the design stages. I designed each part in SolidWorks and then cut it out on a laser cutter. The fasteners were also designed in SolidWorks and 3D printed.

1. 4 sheets of 6mm clear acrylic (12inx24in)
2. 4 sheets of 3mm clear acrylic (12inx24in)
3. 20 ball bearings
4. Acrylic Solvent (I used some from Weld On)
5. Access to a 3D printer and filament
6. Access to a laser cutter

I designed each part separately and created an assembly to see how they would all fit together. It took a few iterations to reach a final design that I felt prepared to cut out. I designed each part to fit together perfectly and allowed the laser cutter to add some tolerance because of its kerf. I have attached the PDF files I used to cut these parts out. Most of the frame and gears are cut out of the 6mm acrylic, while the trays are cut from the 3mm. The acrylic I used had a blue film on it that I left on until after cutting to prevent the acrylic from darkening from the smoke.

I printed these fasteners out of ABS because it was all I had available, though PETG would probably be better for this application. I printed 10 of each of the 16mm and 24.5mm bolts. I printed 2 of the 30mm bolts and 22 of the snap rings.

The assembly is pretty simple. The pieces lock together easily and can be bonded together with a small line of solvent along the seams. Below is the order I recommend for assembly.

1. Assemble the trays.
2. Bond the small round standoffs to the gears with the small holes.
3. Assemble the gear system.
4. Attach the center fixture plates to each other with the long connectors.
5. Bond the large round plates and center gear to the sides of the frame.
6. Attach the trays to the gear system.
7. Assemble the frame, but wait until the spice tray assembly is fixed in place to glue it together.
8. Use a square to straighten each spice tray and fix each spice tray to the gear.

You're done! Fill the spaces with spices and enjoy your new spice rack. Add labels if desired.