Movement No. 104 demonstrates a versatile worm screw and wheel mechanism used in screw-cutting and slide lathes. The mechanism works in two related ways: rotating the worm screw drives the wheel in rotary motion, or conversely, rotating the wheel drives a connected slide in rectilinear motion. The worm screw meshes at a right angle with the teeth of the wheel, providing a large gear reduction and significant mechanical advantage in a compact arrangement. This dual-function capability — converting rotation to rotation or rotation to linear motion — made it an essential component in precision lathe design, where controlled feed rates and accurate thread-cutting depend on the precise coordination of rotary and linear movements across the machine.
104. In this, rotary motion is imparted to the wheel by the rotation of the screw, or rectilinear motion of the slide by the rotation of the wheel. Used in screw-cutting and slide-lathes.