| Building
the Sprockets & Drive Case (Packs 10 & 9) |
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This
picture shows the impressive size of the one piece aluminum drive
sprocket. To the right are two Tamiya sprockets from 1/16th and 1/35th
plastic kits. The sprockets are resting on the aluminum 1/6th track
links. |
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Compared
to the drive sprocket of a full size German WWII JagdPanther, the
Armortek sprocket is tiny. The real tank is at Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Maryland, USA. |
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The components of the drive sprocket. The drive gear has 45 teeth
and measures 70.5 mm wide. |
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The drive housing shaft seal is pressed into the housing. The 'cup'
side of the seal faces up. |
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The face of the drive sprocket rubbed against the gear housing. The
lobed area required some filing. Fifteen M3 * 20 cap head screws secure
the drive case to the hull. Many builders have used gasket compound
to seal the case to the hull as grease will be applied to the gears
later. |
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The
keyway that I received was too small, it fit nicely in the passage,
but could slide from the center out. |
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Securing the sprocket to the shaft is done with retainer CE0305. |
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The center hub or sprocket cap (CE0306) is then pressure fitted into
the hole to cover the retainer. This cap has six fake bolt heads and
is made of aluminum. The retaining edge must be carefully filed to
allow a pressure fit to the sprocket. |
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During the summer of 2004, Armortek began offering free upgrades to
customer's sprockets and drive gears. Under extreme conditions, the
drive shaft may break from the gear. The sprocket was also upgraded
by opening up the center and fitting a steel insert. Tightening the
two set screws grip the drive shaft. Notice the lack of mounting holes
for the retainer CE0305, According to Armortek, the retainer is not
needed, although adding it provides additional security. |
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View from the back side. Armortek took care to make sure each sprocket
was returned to the original owner. The returned parts also included
longer keys for the sprocket/drive gear assembly. A little filing
was still needed for the keys, but they are a welcome improvement. |
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The replacement drive gear appears to be one piece. |
| More
information
concerning the final sprocket details can be found at Building
- Details - Sprocket. |
![[Tiger 321]](321_1.gif)
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