rack and pinion, mechanical device consisting of a bar of rectangular cross section (the rack), having teeth on one side that mesh with teeth on a small gear (the pinion). The pinion may have straight teeth, as in the figure, or helical (twisted) teeth that mesh with teeth on the rack that are inclined to the pinion-shaft axis.
If the pinion rotates about a fixed axis, the rack will translate; i.e., move on a straight path, as shown by the arrow AB in the . Some automobiles have rack-and-pinion drives on their steering mechanisms that operate in this way.
If the rack is fixed and the pinion is carried in bearings on a table guided on tracks parallel to the rack, rotation of the pinion shaft will move the table parallel to the rack as shown by the arrow CD in the Figure. On machine tools, rack-and-pinion mechanisms are used in this way to obtain rapid movements of worktables; the pinion shaft is usually rotated with a hand crank.