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Worm Drive Wiki
Worm Drive Wiki
The worm gear or "endless screw" was invented by either Archytas of Terentum,
Apollonius of Perge, or Archimedes, the last one the most probable author.[1] The
worm gear later appeared in the Indian subcontinent, for use in roller cotton gins,
during the Delhi Sultanate in the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries.[2]
Like other gear arrangements, a worm drive can reduce rotational speed or transmit
higher torque. A worm is an example of a screw, one of the six simple machines. One
of the major advantages of worm gear drive units are that they can transfer motion
in 90 degrees. The worm in the worm gear drive may have single or multiple starts.
Each full 360 degree turn of a single start worm advances the gear by one tooth.
For a multi start worm the gear reduction equals the number of teeth on the gear
divided by the number of starts on the worm. Both the sliding and the rolling
actions of the worm and the gear come into play during the meshing of the gears.
The sliding contact dominates at high reduction ratios. Much heat is produced due
to friction while sliding, which limits the efficiency of worm gears to 30 to 50
percent. The worm and the gear are made of dissimilar metals in order to minimize
the friction and loss in efficiency.
Contents
1 Explanation
2 Types
3 Direction of transmission
4 Applications
5 Left hand and right hand worm
6 Manufacture
7 See also
8 References
8.1 Bibliography
9 External links
Explanation
The first are non-throated worm gears. These don't have a throat, or groove,
machined around the circumference of either the worm or worm wheel. The second are
single-throated worm gears, in which the worm wheel is throated. The final type are
double-throated worm gears, which have both gears throated. This type of gearing
can support the highest loading.[3]
An enveloping (hourglass) worm has one or more teeth and increases in diameter from
its middle portion toward both ends.[4]:3
Direction of transmission
Unlike with ordinary gear trains, the direction of transmission (input shaft vs
output shaft) is not reversible when using large reduction ratios. This is due to
the greater friction involved between the worm and worm-wheel, and is especially
prevalent when a single start (one spiral) worm is used. This can be an advantage
when it is desired to eliminate any possibility of the output driving the input. If
a multistart worm (multiple spirals) is used then the ratio reduces accordingly and
the braking effect of a worm and worm-gear may need to be discounted, as the gear
may be able to drive the worm.
Worm gear configurations in which the gear cannot drive the worm are called self-
locking. Whether a worm and gear is self-locking depends on the lead angle, the
pressure angle, and the coefficient of friction.
Applications
A worm drive controlling a gate. The position of the gate does not change once set
In early 20th century automobiles prior to the introduction of power steering, the
effect of a flat or blowout on one of the front wheels tended to pull the steering
mechanism toward the side with the flat tire. The use of a worm screw reduced this
effect. Further worm drive development led to recirculating ball bearings to reduce
frictional forces, which transmitted some steering force to the wheel. This aids
vehicle control and reduces wear that could cause difficulties in steering
precisely.
Worm drives are a compact means of substantially decreasing speed and increasing
torque. Small electric motors are generally high-speed and low-torque; the addition
of a worm drive increases the range of applications that it may be suitable for,
especially when the worm drive's compactness is considered.
Worm drives are used in presses, rolling mills, conveying engineering, mining
industry machines, on rudders, and worm drive saws. In addition, milling heads and
rotary tables are positioned using high-precision duplex worm drives with
adjustable backlash. Worm gears are used on many lift/elevator and escalator-drive
applications due to their compact size and the non-reversibility of the gear.
In the era of sailing ships, the introduction of a worm drive to control the rudder
was a significant advance. Prior to its introduction, a rope drum drive controlled
the rudder. Rough seas could apply substantial force to the rudder, often requiring
several men to steer the vessel—some drives had two large-diameter wheels so up to
four crewmen could operate the rudder.
A more recent exception to this is the Torsen differential, which uses worms and
planetary worm gears in place of the bevel gearing of conventional open
differentials. Torsen differentials are most prominently featured in the HMMWV and
some commercial Hummer vehicles, and as a centre differential in some all wheel
drive systems, such as Audi's quattro. Very heavy trucks, such as those used to
carry aggregates, often use a worm gear differential for strength. The worm drive
is not as efficient as a hypoid gear, and such trucks invariably have a very large
differential housing, with a correspondingly large volume of gear oil, to absorb
and dissipate the heat created.
Worm drives are used as the tuning mechanism for many musical instruments,
including guitars, double-basses, mandolins, bouzoukis, and many banjos (although
most high-end banjos use planetary gears or friction pegs). A worm drive tuning
device is called a machine head.
Plastic worm drives are often used on small battery-operated electric motors, to
provide an output with a lower angular velocity (fewer revolutions per minute) than
that of the motor, which operates best at a fairly high speed. This motor-worm-gear
drive system is often used in toys and other small electrical devices.
A worm drive is used on jubilee-type hose clamps or jubilee clamps. The tightening
screw's worm thread engages with the slots on the clamp band.
A left hand helical gear or left hand worm is one in which the teeth twist
anticlockwise as they recede from an observer looking along the axis.[4]:72
Manufacture
Worm wheels are first gashed to rough out the teeth and then hobbed to the final
dimensions.[5]
See also
List of gear nomenclature
Gear
Linear actuator, some forms occasionally also referred to as worm gear or worm
drive
Rack and pinion
Slewing drive
References
Witold Rybczynski, One good turn : a natural history of the screwdriver and the
screw. London, 2000. Page 139.
Irfan Habib, Economic History of Medieval India, 1200–1500, page 53, Pearson
Education
"Worm Gears". Retrieved 2009-05-01.
Gear Nomenclature, Definition of Terms with Symbols. American Gear Manufacturers
Association. 2005. ISBN 978-1-55589-846-5. OCLC 65562739. ANSI/AGMA 1012-G05.
Oberg 1920, pp. 213–214.
Bibliography
Oberg, Erik (1920). "Spiral and worm gearing". The Industrial Press.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Worm gears.
Kinematic Models for Design Digital Library (KMODDL)
Movies and photos of hundreds of working mechanical-systems models at Cornell
University. Also includes an e-book library of classic texts on mechanical design
and engineering.
Formulae & Calculations for Worm Drive
Various Metric Gears downloadable design specifications, 2D-3D models and
catalogues
Various Worm Gearboxes, 3D models
Machining of Worm Shaft and Worm Gears
vte
Gears
Systems
Spur gear systemsWorm driveRack and pinionEpicyclic (planetary) gearingSun and
planet gearHarmonic driveCycloidal driveNon-circular gear
Shapes
SpurBevelCrownSpiral bevelHelicalHerringbone
Geartooth profiles
InvoluteCycloid
Mechanics
TransmissionDifferentialCouplingTrainBicycle gearingContinuously variable
transmissionOffset
Examples
Bicycles
CogsetDerailleur gearsHub gearShaft-driven bicycleSprocket
Horology
Wheel train
See also
Ball screwLeadscrewJackscrewBelt driveChain driveGear manufacturingFreewheelLego
TechnicSpur gear corrected tooth
Categories: GearsIndian inventions