Worm Gear Reducer, Right Angle Speed Reducer, 15:1 Ratio, 5.6 HP at 1750 RPM, 3.5 in Worm Center Distance, Cast Iron Housing, Single Reduction, Morse 35RW

This is a Morse RW series right angle worm gear speed reducer, size 35RW. Morse is a power transmission brand originally built by Morse Chain, later Emerson Power Transmission, and now part of Regal Rexnord. A worm gear reducer transmits power through a helical worm meshing with a bronze worm wheel, which turns the input and output shafts 90 degrees to each other and produces a large speed reduction in a single gear pass. That single-pass reduction is what distinguishes it from a helical or helical-bevel gearbox, which needs two or three stages to reach the same ratio and costs more to build. The tradeoff is efficiency: the worm and wheel slide against each other rather than rolling, so a worm reducer runs less efficiently than a helical unit and generates more heat, and at higher ratios it becomes self-locking, which prevents the load from back-driving the input. The RW series uses a one-piece cast iron housing and is a shaft input, shaft output design, meaning the input is a plain keyed shaft for belt or coupling drive rather than a C-face motor quill. Housings in this series are drilled for both base and top mounting, and the output shaft can be supplied as a single extension on either side or as a through shaft with extensions on both sides.

Reading the designation: 35 is the worm center distance in tenths of an inch, so 3.5 in between the worm axis and the output shaft axis, which is the primary size measure for a worm reducer and sets the torque capacity. RW identifies the Morse cast iron single-reduction worm reducer series with shaft input and shaft output