|
Axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type axle is referred to as a '' spindle''. Terminology On cars and trucks, several senses of the word ''axle'' occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking, a shaft which rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an ''axle'' or ''axle shaft''. However, in looser usage, an entire assembly including the surrounding axle housing (typically a casting) is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drive Axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type axle is referred to as a '' spindle''. Terminology On cars and trucks, several senses of the word ''axle'' occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking, a shaft which rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an ''axle'' or ''axle shaft''. However, in looser usage, an entire assembly including the surrounding axle housing (typically a casting) is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheel And Axle
The wheel and axle is a simple machine consisting of a wheel attached to a smaller axle so that these two parts rotate together in which a force is transferred from one to the other. The wheel and axle can be viewed as a version of the lever, with a drive force applied tangentially to the perimeter of the wheel, and a load force applied to the axle supported in a bearing, which serves as a fulcrum. History The Halaf culture of 6500–5100 BCE has been credited with the earliest depiction of a wheeled vehicle, but this is doubtful as there is no evidence of Halafians using either wheeled vehicles or even pottery wheels. One of the first applications of the wheel to appear was the potter's wheel, used by prehistoric cultures to fabricate clay pots. The earliest type, known as "tournettes" or "slow wheels", were known in the Middle East by the 5th millennium BCE. One of the earliest examples was discovered at Tepe Pardis, Iran, and dated to 5200–4700 BCE. These wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Axle
A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have also been used as front axles in four-wheel-drive vehicles. In most automobiles, beam axles have been replaced with front and rear independent suspensions. Implementation With a beam axle the camber angle between the wheels is the same no matter where it is in the travel of the suspension. A beam axle's fore & aft location is constrained by either: trailing arms, semi-trailing arms, radius rods, or leaf springs. The lateral location can be constrained by a Panhard rod, a Scott Russell linkage or a Watt's linkage, or some other arrangement, most commonly by the leaf springs. Shock absorbers and either leaf springs, coil springs, or air bags are used to control vertical movement. The Twist-beam rear suspension is a similar suspension ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transaxle
A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions. Engine and drive at the same end Transaxles are nearly universal in all automobile configurations that have the engine placed at the same end of the car as the driven wheels: the front-engine/front-wheel-drive; rear-engine/rear-wheel-drive; and mid-engine/rear-wheel-drive arrangements. Many mid- and rear-engined vehicles use a transverse engine and transaxle, similar to a front-wheel-drive unit. Others use a longitudinal engine and transaxle like Ferrari's 1989 Mondial t which used a "T" arrangement with a longitudinal engine connected to a transverse transaxle. Front-wheel-drive versions of modern Audis, from the A4 upwards, along with their related marques from the Volkswagen Group (which share the same automobile layout) also use a similar layout, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drivetrain that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement between them. As torque carriers, drive shafts are subject to torsion and shear stress, equivalent to the difference between the input torque and the load. They must therefore be strong enough to bear the stress, while avoiding too much additional weight as that would in turn increase their inertia. To allow for variations in the alignment and distance between the driving and driven components, drive shafts frequently incorporate one or more universal joints, jaw couplings, or rag joints, and sometimes a splined joint or prismatic joint. History The term ''driveshaft'' first appeared during the mid-19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Joint
A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges located close together, oriented at 90° to each other, connected by a cross shaft. The universal joint is not a constant-velocity joint. U-joints are also sometimes called by various eponymous names, as follows: * Cardan joint, after Gerolamo Cardano, a polymath of the 16th century who contributed to knowledge of various clever mechanisms, including gimbals * Hooke joint or Hooke's joint, after Robert Hooke, a polymath of the 17th century who contributed to knowledge of various clever mechanisms * Spicer joint, after Clarence W. Spicer and the Spicer Manufacturing Company, who manufactured U joints * Hardy Spicer joint, after the Hardy Spicer brand, a successor to the Spicer brand History The main concept of the universal j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differential (mechanical Device)
A differential is a gear train with three drive shafts that has the property that the rotational speed of one shaft is the average of the speeds of the others, or a fixed multiple of that average. Functional description The following description of a differential applies to a traditional rear-wheel-drive car or truck with an open or limited slip differential combined with a reduction gearset using bevel gears (these are not strictly necessary; see spur-gear differential): Thus, for example, if the car is making a turn to the right, the main ring gear may make 10 full rotations. During that time, the left wheel will make more rotations because it has farther to travel, and the right wheel will make fewer rotations as it has less distance to travel. The sun gears (which drive the axle half-shafts) will rotate at different speeds relative to the ring gear (one faster, one slower) by, say, 2 full turns each (4 full turns relative to each other), resulting in the left wheel ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent Suspension
Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked. "Independent" refers to the motion or path of movement of the wheels or suspension. It is common for the left and right sides of the suspension to be connected with anti-roll bars or other such mechanisms. The anti-roll bar ties the left and right suspension spring rates together but does not tie their motion together. Most modern vehicles have independent front suspension (IFS). Many vehicles also have an independent rear suspension (IRS). IRS, as the name implies, has the rear wheels independently sprung. A fully independent suspension has an independent suspension on all wheels. Some early independent systems used swing axles, but modern systems use Chapman or MacPherson struts, trailing arms, multili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Front-wheel Drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles. Location of engine and transmission By far the most common layout for a front-wheel drive car is with the engine and transmission at the front of the car, mounted transversely. Other layouts of front-wheel drive that have been occasionally produced are a front-engine mounted longitudinally, a mid-engine layout and a rear-engine layout. History Prior to 1900 Experiments with front-wheel drive cars date to the early days of the automobile. The world's first self-propelled vehicle, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's 1769/1770 "fardier à vapeur", was a front-wheel driven three-wheeled steam-tractor. It then took at least a century, for the first e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constant-velocity Joint
Constant-velocity joints (also known as homokinetic or CV joints) are mechanical joints which allow a drive shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed, without an appreciable increase in friction or play. They are mainly used in front-wheel drive vehicles. Modern rear-wheel drive cars with independent rear suspension typically use CV joints at the ends of the rear axle halfshafts and increasingly use them on the drive shaft. History The universal joint, one of the earliest means of transmitting power between two angled shafts, was invented by Gerolamo Cardano in the 16th century. The fact that it failed to maintain constant velocity during rotation was recognized by Robert Hooke in the 17th century, who proposed the first constant velocity joint, consisting of two Cardan joints offset by 90 degrees, so as to cancel out the velocity variations. This is the "double Cardan". Many different types of constant-velocity joints have been inve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bushing (bearing)
A plain bearing, or more commonly sliding contact bearing and slide bearing (in railroading sometimes called a solid bearing, journal bearing, or friction bearing), is the simplest type of bearing, comprising just a bearing surface and no rolling elements. Therefore, the journal (i.e., the part of the shaft in contact with the bearing) slides over the bearing surface. The simplest example of a plain bearing is a shaft rotating in a hole. A simple linear bearing can be a pair of flat surfaces designed to allow motion; e.g., a drawer and the slides it rests on or the ways on the bed of a lathe. Plain bearings, in general, are the least expensive type of bearing. They are also compact and lightweight, and they have a high load-carrying capacity. Design The design of a plain bearing depends on the type of motion the bearing must provide. The three types of motions possible are: * ''Journal'' (''friction'', ''radial'' or ''rotary'') ''bearing'': This is the most common type of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rear-wheel Drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel drive vehicles feature a longitudinally-mounted engine at the front of the car. Layout The most common layout for a rear-wheel drive car is with the engine and transmission at the front of the car, mounted longitudinally. Other layouts of rear-wheel drive cars include front-mid engine, rear-mid engine, and rear-engine. Some manufacturers, such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Porsche (944, 924, 928) and Chevrolet (C5, C6, and C7 Corvettes), place the engine at the front of the car and the transmission at the rear of the car, in order to provide a more balanced weight distribution. This configuration is often referred to as a transaxle since the transmission and axle are one unit. History 1890s to 1960s Many of the cars built in the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
