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Screw - distance ratio

Description

A screw is a mechanism that converts rotational motion to linear motion, and a torque (rotational force) to a linear force. It is one of the six classical simple machines. The most common form consists of a cylindrical shaft with helical grooves or ridges called threads around the outside.

The distance ratio of a simple machine is defined as the ratio of the distance the applied force moves to the distance the load moves. For a screw it is the ratio of the circular distance din a point on the edge of the shaft moves to the linear distance dout the shaft moves. If r is the radius of the shaft, in one turn a point on the screw’s rim moves a distance of 2πr, while its shaft moves linearly by the lead distance l. So the distance ratio is given by the shown formula.

Related formulas

Variables

DRdistance ratio (dimensionless)
πpi
rradius of the shaft (m)
llead of the screw (m)