Lead Screw - Jam Condition

[freerangequark]

I have a 1/4 x 16 Acme thread (1/16" lead) .... if an acme nut on this rod hits a stop, the nut will jam and lock against the stop.

I have a 1/4 X 1" Lead Screw (1" lead) ... if a leadscrew nut on this rod hits a stop, the nut does not jam or lock against the stop.

My question is, what is the minimum lead/angle/pitch that will not easily jam or lock up?

Short of experimentation and a lot of prototyping, I am hoping someone here can make a general statement on the subject or perhaps state a rule of thumb.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[ornerynorsk]

Thanks for sharing feedback with us, glad it worked for you. 3 TPI on 1/4 dia is about 23 degrees helix angle, so that lends merit to 20 degree threshold.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.