Worm Gear API

Worm-gear engineering maths as an API, computed locally and deterministically — the ratio, lead-angle and efficiency numbers a machine designer or millwright sizes a worm drive with. The ratio endpoint gives the reduction = wheel teeth ÷ worm starts, so a single-start worm on a 40-tooth wheel is a big 40:1 reduction in one compact stage — the high ratio in a small package is the whole appeal of a worm drive. The geometry endpoint gives the lead (= starts × axial pitch, with axial pitch = π × module) and the lead angle = atan(lead ÷ (π × worm pitch diameter)), and tests for self-locking: a small lead angle (roughly under 5–6° for typical steel-on-bronze) means the wheel cannot back-drive the worm — invaluable for hoists and holding loads, at the cost of efficiency. The efficiency endpoint gives the mesh efficiency when the worm drives = tan(lead angle) ÷ tan(lead angle + friction angle), which is low for the small lead angles that give big ratios — often 50–70 %, which is why worm gears run warm and need good lubrication — while high-lead multi-start worms reach 90 %+; when the lead angle drops to the friction angle the drive becomes self-locking. Everything is computed locally and deterministically, so it is instant and private. Ideal for mechanical-design and gearbox tools, machine-building and CAD utilities, and engineering calculators. Pure local computation — no key, no third-party service, instant. Confirm self-locking dynamically — vibration can unlock a marginal pair. 3 compute endpoints. For spur gears use a spur-gear API; for a general ratio a gear-ratio API.