Worm Gears

•A worm gear is an inclined plane wrapped

around a central axle. It is a gear with one or
more teeth in the form of screwed threads.
Worm gears are made of two parts: the pinion
and the worm gear. The pinion has small
number of teeth and they wrap around the
pitch cylinder. The worm gear has concave
faces to fit the curvature of the worm in order
to provide line of contact instead of point of
contact. They are cut helically for better
mating. Worm gears can provide a high
angular velocity between non-intersecting
shafts at right angles. They are capable of
transmitting high tooth loads, the only
disadvantage is the high sliding velocities
across the teeth. They provide ultimate power
ratio.
 Advantages
• The efficiency of worm gear depends on the lead angle, sliding
speed, and lubricant, surface quality and installation conditions.
They offer smoothest, quietest form of gearing. They provide high-
ratio speed reduction in minimal spaces. Worm gears are used
when large gear reductions are required. Worm gear has a unique
property of easily turning the gear. The gear cannot turn the worm
because the angle on the worm is shallow and when the gear tries
to spin the worm, the friction between the two holds the worm in
place.
Worm gears work under difficult conditions, presenting unique
lubrication demands. The types of oils most commonly used to
lubricate worm gears are compounded mineral oils, EP mineral gear
oils and synthetics.
 Mechanism
• Worm gear is always used as the input gear. For
the operation of worm gear, torque is applied to
the input end of the worm shaft by a driven
sprocket or electric motor. The worm and the
worm shaft are supported by anti-friction roller
bearings. Because of high friction worm gears
are very inefficient. There is lot of friction
between a worm gear and the gear being driven
by the worm gear. When used in high torque
applications, the friction causes the wear on the
gear teeth and erosion of restraining surface.
 Types
• There are three types of worm gears:
• Non throated- a helical gear with a straight worm. Tooth
contact is a single moving point on the worm drive.

• Single throated- has concave helical teeth wrap around

the worm. This leads to line contact.

• Double throated- called a cone or hourglass. It has

concave teeth both on the worm and helical gear.
 Applications
• Worm gears are widely used in packaging
machinery, material handling, machine
tools, indexing and food processing. They
are used widely in conveyor systems.
They are also used in torsen differential,
used on some high-performance cars and
trucks. They serve as speed reducers in
many different industries.