Geneva drive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Geneva drive or Maltese cross is a mechanism that translates a continuous rotation into an intermittent rotary motion. It is an intermittent gear where the drive wheel has a pin that reaches into a slot of the driven wheel and thereby advances it by one step. The drive wheel also has a raised circular blocking disc that locks the driven wheel in position between steps.
Maybe I’m a nerd, but this is really cool to me. The animation is kind of mesmerizing. I like it.