Hobbies And Interests
Sprocket and Chain
When you think about a sprocket and chain, you may think about how one sprocket or gear is connected to a second sprocket; the sprockets may translate energy to torque along another plane as they do in a car engine's timing chain or primary motorcycle sprocket to drive sprocket. In many cases, though, when you follow the mechanical chain of events, you see that the sprocket ultimately produces linear motion. With the motorcycle, for instance, the chain moves the wheel which creates the linear motion of the motorcycle driving forward.
Block and Tackle
A block and tackle isn't the kind of threaded gear you find in your transmission. It's a reduction gear. Reduction gears translate the distance or effort required to lift something, for example. So, if something is too heavy to lift, a reduction gear attached to a cranking lever or electric motor can take advantage of the reduction gears' mechanical advantage to lift it. In the process, the series of round reduction gears turn rotating motion into linear motion.
Level Wind Screws
A level wind screw can be found on some kinds of fishing rods -- often called casting rods -- where a carriage moves back and forth at a speed commensurate to the reel speed, distributing the line onto the spool evenly. Large-scale level winds are also found on commercial fishing boats such as long-line boats. These commercial reels have a gear attaching the level wind screw to a motor. When engaged, the circular motion of the gear moves a carriage linearly across the spool and back.
Power Conveyor Belt
Not all conveyor belts use gears. Some may be gravity-fed, or just facilitate hand movement. Most, though, in addition to allowing goods to be easily conveyed along the belt are connected to an engine through a gear. So, when the conveyor belt is powered, the engine's power is transmitted through the gear into the linear motion of the belt.