A power screw ls a drlve used ln machlnery Lo converL a roLary moLlon lnLo a llnear moLlon

for power Lransmlsslon

ower screws should be deslgned for smooLh and nolseless Lransmlsslon of power wlLh an
ablllLy Lo carry heavy loads wlLh hlgh efflclency We flrsL conslder Lhe dlfferenL Lhread forms
and Lhelr proporLlons
Square Lhreads
1he Lhread form ls shown ln flgure6111 1hese Lhreads have hlgh efflclency buL Lhey are
dlfflculL Lo manufacLure and are expenslve 1he proporLlons ln Lerms of plLch are
h1 03 p h2 03 p b P 03 p + a e 03 p
a and b are dlfferenL for dlfferenL serles of Lhreads

Some deLalls of square Lhread form 6111 l

Acme or 1rapezoldal Lhreads
1he Acme Lhread form ls shown ln flgure 6112 1hese Lhreads may be used ln appllcaLlons
such as lead screw of a laLhe where loss of moLlon cannoL be LoleraLed 1he lncluded angle
2 29o and oLher proporLlons are
ap27
and h 023 p + 023 mm

l Some deLalls of Acme or 1rapezoldal Lhread forms 6112

A meLrlc Lrapezoldal
A meLrlc Lrapezoldal Lhread form ls shown ln flgure 6113 and dlfferenL proporLlons of Lhe
Lhread form ln Lerms of Lhe plLch are as follows
lncluded angle 30o P1 03 p z 023 p + P1/2 P3 h3 P1+ ac 03 p + ac
ac ls dlfferenL for dlfferenL plLch

l Some deLalls of a meLrlc 1rapezoldal Lhread form 6113

8uLLress Lhread
1hls Lhread form can also be used for power screws buL Lhey can LransmlL power only ln one
dlrecLlon 1yplcal appllcaLlons are screw [ack vlces eLc A 8uLLress Lhread form ls shown ln
flgure 6114 and Lhe proporLlons are shown ln Lhe flgure ln Lerms of Lhe plLch
Cn Lhe whole Lhe square Lhreads have Lhe hlghesL efflclency as compared Lo oLher Lhread
forms buL Lhey are less sLurdy Lhan Lhe Lrapezoldal Lhread forms and Lhe ad[usLmenL for
wear ls dlfflculL for square Lhreads
When a large llnear moLlon of a power screw ls requlred Lwo or more parallel Lhreads are
used
1hese are called mulLlple sLarL power drlves

l Some deLalls of a 8uLLress Lhread form 6114
612Lfflclency of a power screw
A square Lhread power screw wlLh a slngle sLarL ls shown ln flgure 6121 Pere p ls Lhe
plLch Lhe hellx angle dm Lhe mean dlameLer of Lhread and l ls Lhe axlal load A developed
slngle Lhread ls shown ln flgure 6122 where L n p for a mulLlsLarL drlve n belng Lhe
number of sLarLs ln order Lo analyze Lhe mechanlcs of Lhe power screw we need Lo conslder
Lwo cases
a) 8alslng Lhe load
b) Lowerlng Lhe load

6121l A square Lhread power screw













1he wear llfe of power screw and nuL drlve sysLems ls dlfflculL Lo predlcL LheoreLlcally 1he
number of varlables lnvolved ln such a predlcLlon ls large load speed screw maLerlal nuL
maLerlal surface flnlshes lubrlcaLlon duLy cycle operaLlng LemperaLure and envlronmenLal
facLors such as Lhe presence of abraslve conLamlnanLs corroslves vlbraLlon eLc and our
undersLandlng of how Lhese facLors lnLeracL ls llmlLed