Screw Jack

Definition:
A jackscrew is a type of jack which is operated by turning a leadscrew. In the form of
a screw jack it is commonly used to lift heavy weights such as the foundations of
houses, or large vehicles.
Advantages:
An advantage of jackscrews over some other types of jack is that they are self-
locking, which means when the rotational force on the screw is removed, it will
remain motionless where it was left and will not rotate backwards, regardless of how
much load it is supporting. This makes them inherently safer than hydraulic jacks, for
example, which will move backwards under load if the force on the hydraulic actuator
is accidentally released.
Mechanical advantage:
The mechanical advantage of a screw jack, the ratio of the force the jack exerts on
the load to the input force on the lever, ignoring friction, is
Where
is the force the jack exerts on the load
is the rotational force exerted on the handle of the jack
is the length of the jack handle, from the screw axis to where the force is
applied
is the lead of the screw.
owever, most screw jacks have large amounts of friction which increase the input
force.
Applications:
A jackscrew!s threads must support heavy loads. In the most heavy"duty
applications, such as screw jacks, a s#uare thread or buttress thread is used,
because it has the lowest friction. In other application such as actuators, an Acme
thread is used, although it has higher friction.
The large area of sliding contact between the screw threads means jackscrews have
high friction and low efficiency as power transmission linkages, around $%&'(%&.
)o they are not often used for continuous transmission of high power, but more often
in intermittent positioning applications.
The ball screw is a more advanced type of leadscrew that uses a recirculating"ball
nut to minimi*e friction and prolong the life of the screw threads. The thread profile of
such screws is approximately semicircular +commonly a ,gothic arch, profile- to
properly mate with the bearing balls. The disadvantage to this type of screw is that it
is not self"locking.
.ackscrews form vital components in e#uipment. /or instance, the failure of a
jackscrew on a 0c1onnell 1ouglas 012% airliner due to a lack of grease resulted in
the crash of Alaska Airlines /light 345 off the coast of 6alifornia in 3%%%.
/igure
Screw Jacks Range
789)T:; )crew .acks are mechanical lifting devices suitable for a wide variety of
industrial machinery applications, often used in preference to hydraulic or
pneumatic devices because of the greater precision, consistency and reliability
offered.
)crew .acks are the ideal product to push, pull, lift, lower and position object loads
ranging from couple of kilograms to several hundred tonne!s.
The range consists of 55 standard 0odels available with a logical progression of
load capability ranging from (k; to 5%%%k;. <reater loads can be catered for with a
bespoke )crew .ack or )crew .ack )ystem which can designed and manufactured
to your re#uirements.