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1.Gear-wheels fitting together turn in opposite directions.

2.Gear-wheels fitted together turn in opposite directions.

Are there differences in meaning?

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The meaning in these two sentences is pretty much equivalent. Some words are implied:

Gear-wheels that are fitting together turn in opposite directions.
Gear-wheels that have been fitted together turn in opposite directions.

The use of active and passive is a matter of emphasis. The active voice emphasizes the subject, and the passive voice emphasizes the object. Consider these two sentences:

The technician installed the software.
The software was installed by the technician.

The first sentence places a bit more emphasis on the technician, while the second one places a bit more on the software.

In the case of your examples, the second one calls a bit of attention to the fact that someone fitted the gear wheels. The first sentence does not. That is the extent of the difference in meaning.

All that said, I would probably use this:

Gear-wheels that fit together turn in opposite directions.

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