This is a winch system that I designed. The user turns the handle (1), thereby turning the wormgear (2) because they are on the same axle. The wormgear causes the circular gear (3) to move up and down. This is the desired motion in the system, because a string (4) is attached to the circular gear and it pulls up a weight (not pictured). A rack gear (5) and hinge (6) are used to keep the circular gear in the proper plane as it moves up and down. The winch has a very large mechanical advantage, meaning that a small input force used turning the handle can produce a large output force to lift the weight.
