Lever • Pulley • Inclined Plane • Wheel & Axle • Screw • Wedge — Simulate • Explore • Practice • Quiz
Simple machines are the fundamental building blocks of all mechanical devices. There are six classical simple machines: the lever, pulley, inclined plane, wheel and axle, screw, and wedge. Each one allows you to trade force for distance, making it easier to perform work. The key measures of a simple machine are Mechanical Advantage (MA), which is the ratio of load to effort, Velocity Ratio (VR), which is the ratio of the distance moved by the effort to the distance moved by the load, and Efficiency, calculated as MA divided by VR times 100 percent. An ideal machine with no friction has 100% efficiency, but real machines always have some losses due to friction and deformation.
A lever multiplies force by using a rigid beam that pivots around a fulcrum. First-class levers (like a seesaw) have the fulcrum between the effort and the load; second-class levers (like a wheelbarrow) have the load between the fulcrum and effort; third-class levers (like a fishing rod) have the effort between the fulcrum and load. The mechanical advantage of a lever equals the effort arm divided by the load arm. A pulley system redirects or multiplies force using ropes threaded through wheels. Fixed pulleys change direction; movable pulleys provide mechanical advantage equal to the number of rope sections supporting the load. A block and tackle system combines both for even greater advantage.
An inclined plane (ramp) reduces the effort needed to raise an object by spreading the work over a longer distance. Its ideal mechanical advantage is 1/sin(angle). The screw is essentially an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder — one turn advances the screw by its pitch, while the effort travels a much larger circle (2 times pi times the handle length). The wedge is a double inclined plane that converts a horizontal force into two perpendicular splitting forces. The wheel and axle works like a rotating lever, where the mechanical advantage equals the wheel radius divided by the axle radius. All compound machines, from cars to cranes, are combinations of these six simple machines working together.
This simulator is designed for mechanical engineering students, physics students studying classical mechanics, technical education trainees learning about force and motion, and instructors teaching simple machines, mechanical advantage, and work-energy principles. It provides visual, hands-on understanding of how each machine type transforms force and distance without requiring laboratory equipment.