What Is a Worm Drive?
In the world of manufacturing and machinery, a worm drive is a geared arrangement that is generally used to either change the rotational speed of a larger mechanism or modify the amount of torque applied. The arrangement gets its name from the worm gear, a cylindrical gear in the shape of a screw. When the worm gear turns, the threads of the screw rotate and apply motive force to a gear wheel, which in turn rotates and transmits power to the larger mechanism. The term “worm drive” can be a confusing one, as it is common to use the term when talking about only the worm gear itself, even though the definition covers the entire gear system. To further complicate matters, “WORM drive” was an early term for drives that burned data to CD-R discs. WORM stood for Write Once, Read Many in that context. This usage of the term, however, has fallen into disuse, so most contemporary usages of the term refer to the gear system. Worm drives are commonly used due to their relative small size and simpl
