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news 来源：原创 2025/5/26 6:12:55

Worm Gears Explained

蜗轮，蜗杆

What Is a Worm Gear?

A worm gear is a gear consisting of a shaft with a spiral thread that engages with and drives a toothed wheel. Worm gears are an old style of gear, and a version of one of the six simple machines. Basically, a worm gear is a screw butted up against what looks like a standard spur gear with slightly angled and curved teeth.

It changes the rotational movement by 90 degrees, and the plane of movement also changes due to the position of the worm on the worm wheel (or simply "the wheel"). They are typically comprised of a steel worm and a brass wheel.

蜗轮蜗杆是一种由带有螺旋螺纹的轴组成的齿轮，该轴与齿形轮啮合并驱动齿形轮。蜗轮蜗杆是一种古老的齿轮，也是六种简单机械中的一种。从根本上说，蜗轮蜗杆是一个螺杆，与一个看起来像标准正齿轮的齿轮对接，齿轮齿略有角度和弯曲。

它将旋转运动改变了 90 度，运动平面也因蜗杆在蜗轮（或简称 “轮”）上的位置而改变。它们通常由钢蜗杆和黄铜轮组成。

How Worm Gears Work

An electric motor or engine applies rotational power via to the worm. The worm rotates against the wheel, and the screw face pushes on the teeth of the wheel. The wheel is pushed against the load.

电机或发动机通过蜗杆提供旋转动力。蜗杆对着轮子旋转，螺旋面推动轮齿。轮子被推向负载。

Worm Gear Uses

There are a few reasons why one would choose a worm gear over a standard gear.

The first one is the high reduction ratio. A worm gear can have a massive reduction ratio with little effort - all one must do is add circumference to the wheel. Thus you can use it to either greatly increase torque or greatly reduce speed. It will typically take multiple reductions of a conventional gearset to achieve the same reduction level of a single worm gear - meaning users of worm gears have fewer moving parts and fewer places for failure.

A second reason to use a worm gear is the inability to reverse the direction of power. Because of the friction between the worm and the wheel, it is virtually impossible for a wheel with force applied to it to start the worm moving.

On a standard gear, the input and output can be turned independently once enough force is applied. This necessitates adding a backstop to a standard gearbox, further increasing the complication of the gear set.

选择蜗轮而不是标准齿轮有几个原因。

首先是高减速比。蜗轮蜗杆传动不费吹灰之力就能获得巨大的减速比--所要做的就是增加轮子的周长。因此，您可以用它来大大增加扭矩或大大降低速度。通常情况下，传统齿轮组需要多次减速才能达到单个蜗轮蜗杆的相同减速水平，这意味着蜗轮蜗杆的用户拥有更少的活动部件和更少的故障点。

使用蜗轮的第二个原因是无法逆转动力方向。由于蜗杆和轮子之间存在摩擦，轮子受力后几乎不可能使蜗杆开始运动。

在标准齿轮上，一旦施加足够的力，输入和输出就可以独立转动。这就需要在标准齿轮箱上增加一个逆止器，进一步增加齿轮组的复杂性。

Why Not to Use Worm Gears

There is one particularly glaring reason why one would not choose a worm gear over a standard gear: lubrication. The movement between the worm and the wheel gear faces is entirely sliding. There is no rolling component to the tooth contact or interaction. This makes them relatively difficult to lubricate.

The lubricants required are usually very high viscosity (ISO 320 and greater) and thus are difficult to filter, and the lubricants required are typically specialized in what they do, requiring a product to be on-site specifically for that type of equipment.

Worm Gear Lubrication

The main problem with a worm gear is how it transfers power. It is a boon and a curse at the same time. The spiral motion allows huge amounts of reduction in a comparatively small amount of space for what is required if a standard helical gear were used.

This spiral motion also causes an incredibly problematic condition to be the primary mode of power transfer. This is commonly known as sliding friction or sliding wear.

With a typical gear set the power is transferred at the peak load point on the tooth (known as the apex or pitchline), at least in a rolling wear condition. Sliding occurs on either side of the apex, but the velocity is relatively low.

With a worm gear, sliding motion is the only transfer of power. As the worm slides across the tooth of the wheel, it slowly rubs off the lubricant film, until there is no lubricant film left, and as a result, the worm rubs at the metal of the wheel in a boundary lubrication regime. When the worm surface leaves the wheel surface, it picks up more lubricant, and starts the process over again on the next revolution.

蜗轮蜗杆传动的主要问题在于如何传递动力。这既是好事，同时也是坏事。与使用标准斜齿轮相比，螺旋运动可在相对较小的空间内实现巨大的减速。

这种螺旋运动也会导致一种令人难以置信的问题，那就是动力传递的主要方式。这就是通常所说的滑动摩擦或滑动磨损。

对于典型的齿轮组，至少在滚动磨损的情况下，动力是在齿上的峰值负载点（即顶点或节线）传递的。滑动发生在齿顶两侧，但速度相对较低。

对于蜗轮蜗杆来说，滑动运动是唯一的动力传递。蜗杆在轮齿上滑动时，会慢慢磨掉润滑油膜，直到没有润滑油膜为止，因此，蜗杆会在边界润滑状态下与轮齿的金属摩擦。当蜗杆表面离开轮子表面时，它会吸附更多的润滑油，并在下一圈重新开始这个过程。

The rolling friction on a typical gear tooth requires little in the way of lubricant film to fill in the spaces and separate the two components. Because sliding occurs on either side of the gear tooth apex, a slightly higher viscosity of lubricant than is strictly needed for rolling wear is required to overcome that load. The sliding occurs at a relatively low velocity.

The worm on a worm set gear turns, and while turning, it crushes against the load that is imposed on the wheel. The only way to prevent the worm from touching the wheel is to have a film thickness large enough to not have the entire tooth surface wiped off before that part of the worm is out of the load zone.

This scenario requires a special kind of lubricant. Not only will it will have to be a relatively high viscosity lubricant (and the higher the load or temperature, the higher the viscosity must be), it must have some way to help overcome the sliding condition present.

典型齿轮轮齿上的滚动摩擦几乎不需要润滑油膜来填补空间和分隔两个部件。由于滑动发生在齿轮齿顶的两侧，因此需要比滚动磨损所需的润滑油粘度稍高的润滑油来克服这种负荷。滑动的速度相对较低。

蜗轮蜗杆上的蜗杆转动，在转动过程中会挤压施加在齿轮上的载荷。防止蜗杆接触轮子的唯一方法是油膜厚度足够大，以免在蜗杆部分离开负载区之前整个齿面被擦掉。

这种情况需要一种特殊的润滑剂。它不仅必须是一种粘度相对较高的润滑剂（载荷或温度越高，粘度就必须越高），还必须有某种方法来帮助克服当前的滑动状况。

Viscosity

粘度

Viscosity is the major factor in preventing the worm from touching the wheel in a worm gear set. While the load and size of gearing determines the required lubricant, an ISO 460 or ISO 680 is fairly common, and an ISO 1000 is not unheard of. If you've ever tried to filter this range of viscosity, you know it is problematic because it is likely that none of the filters or pumps you have on-site will be the proper size or rating to function properly.

Therefore, you would likely need to get a specific pump and filter for this type of unit. A lubricant that viscous requires a slow operating pump to prevent the lubricant from activating the filter bypass. It will also require a large surface area filter to allow the lubricant to flow through.

在蜗轮蜗杆传动装置中，粘度是防止蜗杆接触齿轮的主要因素。虽然齿轮的负载和尺寸决定了所需的润滑油，但 ISO 460 或 ISO 680 是相当常见的，而 ISO 1000 也并非闻所未闻。如果您曾经尝试过过滤这种粘度范围的润滑油，您就会知道这很成问题，因为您现场的过滤器或泵很可能都没有合适的尺寸或额定值，无法正常工作。

因此，您很可能需要为这类设备配备专门的泵和过滤器。如此粘稠的润滑油需要慢速运行的泵，以防止润滑油激活过滤器旁路。它还需要一个大表面积的过滤器，以便润滑油能够流过。

Lubricant Types to Look For

应注意的润滑油类型

略。

Metallurgy of Worm Gears

蜗轮的冶金学

The most common worm gears are made with a brass wheel and a steel worm. This is because the brass wheel is typically easier to replace than the worm itself. The wheel is made out of brass because it is designed to be sacrificial.

最常见的蜗轮蜗杆是由黄铜轮和钢蜗杆制成的。这是因为黄铜轮通常比蜗杆本身更容易更换。轮子由黄铜制成是因为它被设计为牺牲品。

In the event that the two surfaces come into contact, the worm is marginally safe from wear because the wheel is softer, and therefore, most of the wear occurs on the wheel. Oil analysis reports on this type of unit almost always show some level of copper and low levels of iron - as a result of the sacrificial wheel.

在两个表面接触的情况下，由于蜗轮较软，因此大部分磨损都发生在蜗轮上，蜗杆也就不会受到磨损。这种设备的机油分析报告几乎总是显示存在一定程度的铜和低含量的铁--这是牺牲轮的结果。

This brass wheel throws another problem into the lubrication equation for worm gears. If a sulfur-phosphorous EP gear oil is put into the sump of a worm gear with a brass wheel, and the temperature is high enough, the EP additive will activate. In normal steel gears, this activation produces a thin layer of oxidation on the surface that helps to protect the gear tooth from shock loads and other extreme mechanical conditions.

这种黄铜轮给蜗轮蜗杆的润滑带来了另一个问题。如果将硫磷极压齿轮油注入带有黄铜轮的蜗轮油底壳中，并且温度足够高，极压添加剂就会被激活。在普通钢齿轮中，这种活化作用会在表面产生一层薄薄的氧化层，有助于保护齿轮齿免受冲击载荷和其他极端机械条件的影响。

On the brass surface however, the activation of the EP additive results in significant corrosion from the sulfur. In a short amount of time, you can lose a significant portion of the load surface of the wheel and cause major damage.

但在黄铜表面，EP 添加剂的活化会导致硫的严重腐蚀。在很短的时间内，齿轮的负载表面就会失去很大一部分，从而造成严重损坏。

>Other Materials

Some of the less common materials found in worm gear sets include:

蜗轮蜗杆中一些不太常见的材料包括

>Steel worm and steel worm wheel - This application does not have the EP complications of brass gearing, but there is no room for error built into a gearbox like this. Repairs on worm gear sets with this combination of metal are typically more costly and more time consuming than with a brass/steel worm gear set. This is because the material transfer associated with failure makes both the worm and the wheel unusable in the rebuild.

> 钢蜗杆和钢蜗轮 - 这种应用没有黄铜齿轮的 EP 复杂性，但这种齿轮箱不允许有任何错误。与黄铜/钢蜗轮蜗杆传动装置相比，使用这种金属组合的蜗轮蜗杆传动装置的维修通常成本更高，耗时更长。这是因为与故障相关的材料转移会使蜗杆和蜗轮在重建中无法使用。

>Brass worm and brass worm wheel - This application is most likely found in moderate to light load situations because the brass can only hold up to a lower amount of load. Lubricant selection on this metal combination is flexible because of the lighter load, but one must still consider the additive restrictions regarding EP because of the yellow metal.

>黄铜蜗杆和黄铜蜗轮 - 这种应用最可能出现在中轻载情况下，因为黄铜只能承受较低的载荷。由于负载较轻，这种金属组合的润滑油选择比较灵活，但由于是黄色金属，因此仍必须考虑有关 EP 的添加剂限制。

>Plastic on metal, on plastic, and other similar combinations - This is typically found in relatively light load applications, such as robotics and automotive components. The lubricant selection depends on the plastic in use, because many plastic varieties react to the hydrocarbons in regular lubricant, and thus will require silicon-based or other nonreactive lubricants.

>金属上的塑料、塑料上的塑料以及其他类似组合 - 这种组合通常用于相对较轻的负载，如机器人和汽车零部件。润滑剂的选择取决于所使用的塑料，因为许多塑料品种会对普通润滑剂中的碳氢化合物产生反应，因此需要硅基润滑剂或其他非反应性润滑剂。

Although a worm gear will always have a few complications compared to a standard gear set, it can easily be an effective and reliable piece of equipment. With a little attention to setup and lubricant selection, worm gears can provide reliable service as well as any other type of gear set.

虽然与标准齿轮组相比，蜗轮蜗杆传动总是有一些复杂的问题，但它可以很容易地成为一种有效和可靠的设备。只要稍加注意设置和润滑剂的选择，蜗轮蜗杆传动装置就能像其他类型的齿轮组一样提供可靠的服务。

蜗杆传动_百度百科

蜗轮不能被齿轮带动‌。蜗轮蜗杆传动具有自锁性，即只能由蜗杆带动蜗轮，而不能由蜗轮带动蜗杆。当蜗杆的螺旋升角小于啮合面的当量摩擦角时，蜗轮蜗杆传动具备自锁性，这种特性使得蜗轮在特定条件下只能单向传动，无法反向驱动‌。

蜗轮蜗杆传动的特点

‌自锁性‌：当蜗杆的螺旋升角小于啮合面的当量摩擦角时，蜗轮蜗杆传动具备自锁性，即只能由蜗杆带动蜗轮，而不能由蜗轮带动蜗杆‌。

‌传动比大‌：蜗轮蜗杆传动的传动比通常在10到100之间，甚至可以达到1500以上，适用于需要大传动比的场合‌。

‌平稳性和低噪声‌：由于蜗杆与蜗轮的啮合是连续的，参与啮合的齿对数量多，因此传动平稳且噪声低‌。

‌结构紧凑‌：蜗轮蜗杆传动结构紧凑，占用空间小，适用于空间有限的场合‌。

‌效率低‌：由于啮合处存在较大的滑动速度，摩擦磨损严重，导致传动效率较低，一般在0.7到0.8之间‌。

参考：

Worm Gears Explained

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