Keep rack gear clean or wipe it

[stephenweinstein]

I need to keep goop that lands on a rack gear that protrudes from a gearbox out of the gearbox. Using an o-ring type seal around the rack gear does not work because of the teeth. Boots and bellows have also been considered but are impractical because we need a travel 10X greater than the compressed length.

 

[Philrock]

If you have plenty of radial room, you could use a boot that has lots of convolutions AND tapers out to a large diameter at the middle of its length. Custom urethane boots are not as expensive as you might think - try Urethane Specialists in Sonora, CA.

 

[strokersix]

Or perhaps spiral spring steel as found on machine tool screw covers?

 

[diamondjim]

I assume your rack gear is circular.
If so, you might be able to order a
plastic nut that would allow the
gear to pass thru it and then as it
retracts clean off the gear teeth.
The nut would be the mirror image
of the rack and mounted on the outside
of the gear box.