The primary good thing about worm gears is their ability to provide high reduction ratios and correspondingly high torque multiplication. They may also be utilized as rate reducers in low- to medium-acceleration applications. And, because their reduction ratio is based on the number of gear teeth by itself, they are more compact than other types of gears. Like fine-pitch lead screws, worm gears are typically self-locking, making them perfect for hoisting and lifting applications.

Although the sliding contact reduces efficiency, it provides very quiet operation. (The use of dissimilar metals for the worm and gear also plays a part in quiet procedure.) This makes worm gears suitable for use where noise should be minimized, such as in elevators. Furthermore, the use of a softer material for the gear means that it could absorb shock loads, like those knowledgeable in large equipment or crushing devices.

The meshing of the worm and the apparatus is a mixture of sliding and rolling actions, but sliding contact dominates at high reduction ratios. This sliding actions causes friction and heat, which limits the proficiency of worm gears to 30 to 50 percent. So that you can minimize friction (and therefore, warmth), the worm and gear are made of dissimilar metals – for example, the worm may be made of hardened metal and the gear made of bronze or aluminum.

Just like a ball screw, the worm in a worm gear may well have an individual start or multiple starts – and therefore there are multiple threads, or helicies, on the worm. For a single-start worm, each total turn (360 degrees) of the worm advances the gear by one tooth. Hence a gear with 24 teeth provides a gear reduced amount of 24:1. For a multi-start worm, the apparatus reduction equals the quantity of teeth on the apparatus, divided by the amount of begins on the worm. (That is different from most other types of gears, where the gear reduction is normally a function of the diameters of the two components.)

This is exactly how Worm Gear Shaft can be made use of for your advantage.