Rack and Pinion

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WM2D File

Matlab File

Software copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Info

The rack (in green) is a linear gear with trapezoidal teeth. The straight line tooth profile is an involute traced by a point on a taut, inextensible string  unwinding from a plane (a circle with an infinite diameter). The device is used to convert rotary to linear motion or vice versa.

Source

This Working Model file is adapted from Figure 9.19 on p. 479 in Design of Machinery, 3rd ed. by Norton, R. L., McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Credits

This Working Model file was first developed by Fan (Michael) Mo.