3D render of the Orrery: an orange Sun with six planets and the Moon on silver arms, above yellow gears in a graphite drum with a crank
Free 3D model

Orrery

A clockwork model of the solar system. Turn the crank once and the Earth goes round the Sun once, Mercury a little over four times, the Moon thirteen times round the Earth and Saturn a twenty-ninth of the way. Every planet sits on its own tube; the seven tubes turn inside each other round the Sun's rod and are driven from one layshaft in the gearbox below, with two extra gear stages for slow Jupiter and Saturn. Each orbit is within 0.05% of the real one. Saturn sweeps a circle 41 cm across, and nothing needs supports.

  • 43printed parts
  • 29 × 27 × 20 cmassembled (L × W × H)
  • ≈ 0.6 kgfilament in total
  • 200 mmbed size for the drum; Saturn's arm is 25 cm long and goes diagonally on a 22 cm bed
Download all files ZIP · 3.1 MB

Free for personal use under CC BY-NC 4.0: print it, remix it and share it with credit to Shapekit. Please don't sell the files or the prints.

Take it apart in 3D · Parts · How to build it

In 3D

Turn it, take it apart

Every part as you print it. Pick colours to see what your filament will look like.

The 3D model (12.3 MB) loads when you get here.

Preview colours

Drum and top plate
Gears and tubes
Arms
Sun

Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom

In the download

43 parts, ready to print

Every STL is already placed the right way up. Download them all at once, or one by one.

Drum

The drum the orrery stands on, 20 cm across. Its top is the floor of the gearbox, with the socket for the Sun's rod; underneath it, a tab and a hole in the wall carry the crank shaft.

Size
202 × 202 × 65 mm
Print
Upside down, floor on the bed. No supports: the holes for the crank shaft are teardrops.
Filament
≈ 239 g
STL 0.6 MB

Top plate

Holds the Saturn tube, which turns in it, and the top of the layshaft. Four pillars hold it above the floor; an M3 × 12 from under the floor goes into each.

Size
200 × 200 × 54 mm
Print
Upside down, pillars up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 62 g
STL 0.3 MB

Crank

Turn it once and a year goes by.

Size
48 × 30 × 16 mm
Print
Flat, handle up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 4 g
STL 23 KB

Crank shaft

An 8 mm hex shaft from the bevel gear under the floor out through the wall of the drum.

Size
48 × 9 × 8 mm
Print
Lying on a flat side.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 1 KB

Crank spacer

Sits on the crank shaft between its bevel gear and the bearing tab.

Size
14 × 14 × 6 mm
Print
Standing on one end.
Filament
≈ 1 g
STL 14 KB

Crank bevel gear

18 teeth on the inner end of the crank shaft. It turns the layshaft one to one.

Size
30 × 30 × 4 mm
Print
Back face down, teeth up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 0.3 MB

Layshaft bevel gear

18 teeth on the bottom of the layshaft, under the floor.

Size
30 × 30 × 4 mm
Print
Back face down, teeth up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 0.2 MB

Layshaft

A 7 mm hex shaft beside the tubes. It turns once a year and carries the bevel gear and the five drive gears; the two sleeves turn freely on its top.

Size
66 × 8 × 7 mm
Print
Lying on a flat side.
Filament
≈ 3 g
STL 1 KB

Mercury drive gear

54 teeth on the layshaft. It turns Mercury's 13-tooth gear: 4.15 orbits a year.

Size
82 × 82 × 6 mm
Print
Flat, hub up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 10 g
STL 0.6 MB

Venus drive gear

39 teeth. It turns Venus's 24-tooth gear: 1.625 orbits a year.

Size
65 × 65 × 6 mm
Print
Flat, hub up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 8 g
STL 0.4 MB

Moon drive gear

62 teeth. It turns the Moon tube's 21-tooth gear, 2.95 times a year.

Size
77 × 77 × 6 mm
Print
Flat, hub up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 9 g
STL 0.6 MB

Earth drive gear

36 teeth, the same as the Earth's: one orbit a year.

Size
53 × 53 × 6 mm
Print
Flat, hub up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 6 g
STL 0.4 MB

Mars drive gear

25 teeth. It turns Mars's 47-tooth gear: 0.53 orbits a year.

Size
37 × 37 × 6 mm
Print
Flat, hub up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 4 g
STL 0.3 MB

Jupiter sleeve

Turns freely on the layshaft. The Mars tube drives its 40 teeth and its 14 teeth drive Jupiter's 53: one orbit in 11.86 years.

Size
65 × 65 × 11 mm
Print
Big gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 10 g
STL 0.7 MB

Saturn sleeve

Turns freely on the layshaft above the Jupiter sleeve. The Jupiter tube drives its 30 teeth and its 16 teeth drive Saturn's 49: one orbit in 29.5 years.

Size
48 × 48 × 11 mm
Print
Big gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 8 g
STL 0.6 MB

Mercury tube

The innermost and longest tube, round the Sun's rod: the 13-tooth gear at the bottom, a hex for Mercury's arm at the top.

Size
96 × 23 × 23 mm
Print
Standing up, gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 8 g
STL 0.3 MB

Venus tube

24 teeth at the bottom, Venus's arm at the top.

Size
84 × 41 × 41 mm
Print
Standing up, gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 13 g
STL 0.4 MB

Moon tube

21 teeth at the bottom. Its top comes out just above the Earth's arm and carries the Moon train's 76-tooth gear.

Size
73 × 28 × 28 mm
Print
Standing up, gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 10 g
STL 0.3 MB

Earth tube

36 teeth at the bottom, the Earth's arm at the top.

Size
62 × 53 × 53 mm
Print
Standing up, gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 18 g
STL 0.5 MB

Mars tube

47 teeth for Mars and above them 24 teeth that drive the Jupiter sleeve.

Size
68 × 68 × 50 mm
Print
Standing up, big gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 21 g
STL 0.9 MB

Jupiter tube

53 teeth for Jupiter and above them 37 teeth that drive the Saturn sleeve.

Size
81 × 81 × 33 mm
Print
Standing up, big gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 28 g
STL 1.1 MB

Saturn tube

The outermost and shortest tube; it turns in the top plate.

Size
78 × 78 × 16 mm
Print
Standing up, gear down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 15 g
STL 0.7 MB

Saturn arm

185 mm from the Sun to Saturn's post, with a short tail on the other side.

Size
228 × 114 × 52 mm
Print
Flat, post up. It is 25 cm long: lay it diagonally on a 22 cm bed.
Filament
≈ 14 g
STL 89 KB

Jupiter arm

145 mm to Jupiter's post.

Size
174 × 106 × 47 mm
Print
Flat, post up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 12 g
STL 88 KB

Mars arm

112 mm to Mars's post.

Size
148 × 63 × 46 mm
Print
Flat, post up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 10 g
STL 88 KB

Earth arm

80 mm to the Earth's post, with the stud for the idler of the Moon train on the way. The Moon gear turns round the Earth's post.

Size
98 × 50 × 40 mm
Print
Flat, posts up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 7 g
STL 0.1 MB

Moon train gear

76 teeth on the hex at the top of the Moon tube, just above the Earth's arm.

Size
98 × 98 × 4 mm
Print
Flat. No supports.
Filament
≈ 13 g
STL 0.6 MB

Idler

20 teeth on the stud of the Earth's arm. It passes the Moon train gear's turning on to the Moon gear at the Earth, the same way round.

Size
27 × 27 × 4 mm
Print
Flat. No supports.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 0.3 MB

Moon gear

12 teeth with a sleeve round the Earth's post; the Moon's arm sits on the hex at its top. It turns 76/12 times as fast as the Moon tube does, relative to the arm: 13.37 orbits a year in all.

Size
26 × 18 × 18 mm
Print
Gear down, sleeve up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 0.2 MB

Moon arm

Holds the Moon 15 mm from the Earth, just under it.

Size
21 × 19 × 9 mm
Print
Flat, post up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 1 g
STL 77 KB

Venus arm

54 mm to Venus's post.

Size
67 × 41 × 28 mm
Print
Flat, post up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 4 g
STL 66 KB

Mercury arm

36 mm to Mercury's post. It is the top arm, just under the Sun.

Size
49 × 31 × 21 mm
Print
Flat, post up. No supports.
Filament
≈ 3 g
STL 65 KB

Sun

44 mm across, on the top of the steel rod. It does not turn.

Size
44 × 44 × 38 mm
Print
On its flat bottom. The bottom is cut at 45°, so no supports.
Filament
≈ 16 g
STL 0.2 MB

Mercury

8 mm across.

Size
8 × 8 × 7 mm
Print
On its flat bottom, no supports.
Filament
≈ 0 g
STL 66 KB

Venus

13 mm across.

Size
13 × 13 × 11 mm
Print
On its flat bottom, no supports.
Filament
≈ 1 g
STL 66 KB

Earth

15 mm across.

Size
15 × 15 × 13 mm
Print
On its flat bottom, no supports.
Filament
≈ 1 g
STL 66 KB

Moon

7 mm across.

Size
7 × 7 × 6 mm
Print
On its flat bottom, no supports.
Filament
≈ 0 g
STL 66 KB

Mars

10 mm across.

Size
10 × 10 × 9 mm
Print
On its flat bottom, no supports.
Filament
≈ 1 g
STL 66 KB

Jupiter

28 mm across, with its cloud bands as grooves.

Size
28 × 28 × 24 mm
Print
On its flat bottom, no supports.
Filament
≈ 5 g
STL 0.4 MB

Saturn, lower half

Saturn is tilted 27° on its post; the post goes into the hole in this half.

Size
22 × 22 × 11 mm
Print
Flat face down. No supports.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 0.1 MB

Saturn's ring

42 mm across, clamped between the two halves.

Size
42 × 42 × 2 mm
Print
Flat.
Filament
≈ 3 g
STL 0.2 MB

Saturn peg

Lines up the two halves and the ring.

Size
6 × 4 × 4 mm
Print
Standing up.
Filament
≈ 0 g
STL 13 KB
Also needed

Parts you buy

  • An 8 mm steel rod, 137 mm long, for the Sun: a piece of 8 mm linear rod or silver steel. A straight 8 mm hardwood dowel works as well.
  • 4 × M3 × 12 screws for the pillars. They cut their own thread in the plastic.
  • Super glue for the planets on their posts and the gears on the hex shafts.
  • Optional: a little dry PTFE lubricant or silicone grease on the tubes.
Print settings

Slicer settings

0.16 mmlayer height
3walls
20%infill
PLAmaterial

For a 0.4 mm nozzle. Filament amounts are estimates for these settings.

Assembly

How to build it

Print the parts

Nothing needs supports. Scrape any elephant's foot off the gears and the ends of the tubes, then slide each tube over the next smaller one: they must turn freely inside each other.

Rod and crank

Glue the steel rod into the socket in the middle of the floor. Push the crank shaft through the hole in the wall and the tab inside, slide the spacer and the crank's bevel gear onto its inner end and press the crank onto the outer end.

Layshaft

Push the layshaft down through its hole in the floor and press the second bevel gear onto its bottom end, in mesh with the crank's. From the top, slide on the drive gears for Mercury (54 teeth), Venus (39), the Moon tube (62), the Earth (36) and Mars (25), each resting on the hub of the one below.

Tubes and sleeves

Slide the tubes over the rod from the inside out: Mercury, Venus, the Moon tube, the Earth and Mars, each gear in mesh with its drive gear. Then put the Jupiter sleeve on the layshaft, the Jupiter tube on the rod, the Saturn sleeve and last the Saturn tube.

Top plate

Lower the top plate over the Saturn tube and the top of the layshaft and screw the four pillars down from under the floor with M3 × 12 screws. Turn the crank: every tube should turn.

Arms and the Moon train

Press the arms onto the hexes from the bottom up: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and the Earth. Put the 76-tooth Moon train gear on the Moon tube, the idler on the stud of the Earth's arm and the Moon gear over the Earth's post, then press on the Moon's arm. Finish with the arms of Venus and Mercury.

Planets

Glue each planet onto its post and the Sun onto the rod. For Saturn, put the peg through the ring and close the two halves round it, then glue the lower half onto its post. Turn the crank and watch the year go by.

Small parts: keep the planets and the Moon away from young children.

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Open the makers