basic

Pulley Mechanical Advantage Calculator

MA equals the number of supporting rope segments.

Compute the ideal mechanical advantage of a block-and-tackle (compound pulley) from the number of rope segments supporting the load. Reports effort needed and the rope distance to pull for a given load lift.

Dr. Helena Ortiz By Dr. Helena Ortiz
Published Last reviewed 1 min read

Inputs

N
m

Results

Enter values and click Calculate to see results.
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How to use this calculator

  1. Fill in the inputs above using the units you already have.
  2. Values update automatically as you type — no submit button needed.
  3. Hover any result row for the underlying formula and intermediate values.

Formula

MA = N (rope segments). Effort = load / N. Rope length to pull = lift_distance · N.

In depth

Compute the ideal mechanical advantage of a block-and-tackle (compound pulley) from the number of rope segments supporting the load. Reports effort needed and the rope distance to pull for a given load lift.