# Archimedes' screw (water-raising screw)

> How does an Archimedes screw lift water?

- Category: Mechanisms › Screws
- Kind: Hardware
- Basis: Xem Studio design following Brown No. 443 (1868)
- Page: https://xemstudio.com/objects/archimedes-screw-mechanism/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=archimedes-screw-mechanism · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/archimedes-screw-mechanism/sheet.txt
- License: dimension sheet CC BY 4.0 (Xem Studio); linked files under their publishers' licenses
- Use in every chat: add https://xemstudio.com/mcp as a connector (https://xemstudio.com/use-with-ai/)

**Exact dimensions.** True size, with no printing tolerance added.

## Notes

- A helical flight turning inside a tube, inclined so each turn traps a pocket of water: turning it moves the pockets up the axis one pitch per turn — lifting by rotation with no valves.
- Here Ø60, pitch 60 mm, 3 turns, set at 35° to the horizontal (drawn axis 55° from vertical); it works below about 40°, where each pocket still holds water.
- Brown's No. 443 (Archimedes' screw, machines for raising water).
- Parts (each has its own page): archimedes-screw-rotor-60, archimedes-screw-tube-60.
- Brown's movement No. 443 (1868) shows it; this model is a Xem Studio design following his figure, every part at true size.

## Sizes

| parameter | value |
|---|---|
| outside Ø | 60 mm |
| pitch | 60 mm |
| turns | 3 |
| inclination | 35° |

## Where the files are

- Henry T. Brown (1868, public domain): [Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements — scan on archive.org](https://archive.org/details/fivehundredseven00browiala) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts
- 507movements.com: [Brown's movement No. 443: figure, his text and an animation](https://507movements.com/mm_443.html) — web — Publisher's page; dimensions are facts

## Free STEP/STL (1 parts, CC BY 4.0, Xem Studio)

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/archimedes-screw-mechanism/index.json

- archimedes-screw-mechanism-assembly: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/archimedes-screw-mechanism/archimedes-screw-mechanism-assembly.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/archimedes-screw-mechanism/archimedes-screw-mechanism-assembly.stl) — Assembled mechanism, all parts placed at one pose (STEP keeps each part separate)

## Questions

**How does an Archimedes screw lift water?**

A helical flight turning inside a tube, inclined so each turn traps a pocket of water: turning it moves the pockets up the axis one pitch per turn — lifting by rotation with no valves.

## Fits with

- [Archimedes screw rotor Ø60, pitch 60, 3 turns, Ø12 shaft](https://xemstudio.com/objects/archimedes-screw-rotor-60/)
- [Archimedes screw casing tube Ø60 inside × 180](https://xemstudio.com/objects/archimedes-screw-tube-60/)