MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE

The actual mechanical advantage (AMA) of a machine is the ratio between the output
force it exerts and the input force that is applied on it.

outputforce F out
ActualMec h anicalAdvantage= =
inputfroce F¿

An AMA greater than 1 means that the F out exceeds Fin; an AMA less than 1 means that
Fout is smaller than Fin.

The ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) of a machine is its mechanical advantage in

the absence of friction. If the input force acts through a distance d in when the output
force acts through a distance dout, then

Work input = Work output

Fin din = Fout dout

F out d ¿
=
F ¿ d o ut

inputdistance d
IdealMec h anicalAdvantage= = ¿
outputdistance d out

EFFICIENCY

The efficiency of a machine is the ratio between its work output and work input.

work output F out d out AMA

Eff = = =
work input F¿ d ¿ IMA

COMPOUND MACHINES

When two or more machines are coupled together so that the output of one is the input
of the next, the overall mechanical advantage (IMA or AMA) of the combination is the
product of the mechanical advantages of each one:
 MA = (MA1) (MA2) (MA3) . . .

The overall efficiency of two or more machines in combination is similarly

Eff = (Eff1) (Eff2) (Eff3) . . .

THE LEVER

The IMA of a lever is equal to the ratio between its moment arms L in and Lout

L¿
IMA=
Lout

Fout
Lin Lout

Fulcrum
Fin
The wheel and axle, belt and geardrives, and pulley systems are all developments of
the lever.

Problem 1

One end of a 200-kg crate is to be lifted from the ground by using a 3-m plank as a
lever. If the maximum force that can be applied to the plank is 350 N, where should the
fulcrum be placed? Assume that the crate’s contents are uniformly distributed, so the
mass to be raised is 100 kg.

Problem 2

The wheel and axle is a development of the lever that permits continuous motion. (a)
Where is the fulcrum? (b) What is the IMA of a wheel and axle?

(a) The center of the wheel and axle acts as the fulcrum.
(b) The input force acts tangentially on the wheel rim, and the output force acts
tangentially on the axle rim. When the combination makes one complete turn, a
 point on the wheel moves through d in = 2πR and a point on the axle moves
through dout = 2πr. Hence

d ¿ 2 πR R
IMA= = =
d out 2 πr r

The larger the wheel radius relative to that of the axle, the greater the mechanical
advantage.

THE INCLINED PLANE

In an inclined plane, the ration between the input distance and the output distance is the
same ratio between the length L of the plane and its height h. hence the IMA of an
inclined plane is

L L
IMA=
h
h

Wedges, cams, and screws are all developments of the inclined plane.

A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder in the form of a helix. The
pitchp of a screw is the distance from one thread to the next. If the head of the screw is
turned tangentially by a force at a distance L from its axis, the input force travels the
distance din = 2πL while the screw advances dout = p. Hence the IMA of a screw is

d ¿ 2 πL
IMA= =
d out p
Problem 3

A ramp 25 m long slopes down 1.4 m to the edge of a lake. How much force is needed
to pull out a 360-kg boat on a 90-kg trailer if friction in the trailer’s wheels reduces the
efficiency to 90 percent?

Problem 4

The screw of a machinist’s vise has a pitch of 5 mm and a handle 20-cm long. If the
efficiency is 40 percent, how much force is developed between the jaws of the vise
when a force of 40 N is applied to the end of the handle?

Problem 5

A screw jack has a pitch of 5 mm and a handle 60-cm long. If a force of 50 N is needed
to raise a load of 700 kg, find the efficiency of the jack.

TORQUE TRANSMISSION

Belt and gear drives make possible the transmission of torques from one shaft to
another. The actual mechanical advantage of any such system is

output torque τ out

AMA= =
input torque τ¿

The ideal mechanical advantage of a pulley system equals the ratio between the radius
of the driven pulley rout and that of the driving pulley rin, which is the same as the ratio of
their diameters:

r out d out
IMA= =
r¿ d¿
In the case of a gear drive, since the number of teeth on a gear is proportional to its
radius,

number of teeth on driven gear N out

IMA= =
number of teeth on driving gear N ¿

In any torque transmission system, the angular velocity ratio is the inverse of the IMA:

Output angualr velocity ωout d ¿ 1

= = = =
Input angular velocity ω¿ d out IMA

An increase in torque is accompanied by a decrease in speed of rotation, and vice

versa.