What is a cardan axis? How much do you know about the function and application of cardan shaft?

Cardan shaft, many friends who are new to machinery may be the first time to hear, so what is a cardan shaft? What is the function and application of cardan shaft? Today we will give you a special introduction to the cardan axis!

What is a cardan axis?
The so-called cardan axis refers to the use of ball connections to achieve non-coaxial power transmission of the mechanical structure.
Cardan shaft full name "cardan coupling", is the basic part of the transmission, the biggest feature of the cardan joint coupling is the Angle compensation capacity, compact structure, high transmission efficiency. When there is an Angle between the shaft and the shaft, the two connected axes can be rotated continuously, and the torque and motion can be transmitted reliably. In front engine rear-wheel drive vehicles, the universal joint shaft transmission is installed between the transmission output shaft and the drive axle main reducer input shaft; In front engine front wheel drive vehicles, the drive shaft is omitted and the cardan shaft is installed between the front axle axle and the wheels responsible for steering and steering.
How much do you know about the function and application of cardan shaft?
A cardan shaft is a device that transmits power between two axes whose relative positions change continuously during operation. Its role is to connect the output shaft of the transmission with the input shaft of the main reducer that is not in the same straight line to ensure that the power can still be transmitted reliably when the Angle and distance between the two axes change frequently. The structure and function of the cardan shaft are somewhat like the joints of human limbs, so that the Angle between the connecting parts changes within a certain range. In order to meet the Angle changes caused by power transmission, steering adaptation and up-and-down runout during the operation of the car, the transaxle and half shaft of the front drive car are usually connected with the cardan shaft. However, due to the limitation of axial size, the deflection Angle needs to be larger. Single universal joint shaft can not make the instantaneous angular speed of the output shaft and the input shaft equal, which is easy to cause vibration, aggravate the damage of parts, and produce a lot of noise, so it is widely used in constant speed universal joint shaft.
On the front drive vehicle, two constant speed cardan shafts are used for each half axle. The cardan shaft near the transmission bridge is the internal cardan shaft, and the cardan shaft near the shaft is the external cardan shaft. In the rear drive, the engine, clutch and transmission are mounted on the frame as a whole, and the drive axle is connected to the frame by an elastic suspension, which has a certain distance between them and needs to be connected. When the vehicle is driving, the uneven road surface will produce runout, load changes or the position difference between the two assemblies, so as to change the Angle and distance between the transmission output shaft and the drive axle main reducer input shaft. Therefore, the transmission form of the rear drive cardan shaft adopts a double cardan shaft, that is, there are ten cardan shafts at each end of the drive shaft, which are used to clamp the two ends of the drive shaft, and the Angle is equal to ensure that the instantaneous angular speed of the output shaft and the drive shaft is always equal on the shaft.
The application of cardan shaft in automobiles mainly has the following aspects:
Between the transmission (or transfer case) and the drive axle: the transmission, clutch and engine of the general car are integrated on the frame, and the drive axle is connected to the frame through the suspension. The Angle and distance between the transaxle input shaft and the transmission output shaft will change due to load changes and the jitter caused by the vehicle driving on uneven roads.
In order to eliminate the influence of axle coaxiality error, manufacturing and assembly error on power transmission caused by frame deformation, universal transmission device must be installed.
③ The half shaft of the steering drive axle is segmented. When turning, the intersection Angle of the two half-shafts changes, and the cardan shaft should be used.
④ Disconnect the drive axle axle: the main reducer housing is fixed on the frame, the axle housing swings up and down, the half shaft is segmtioned, and the cardan shaft must be used. The steering shaft of some cars is equipped with a universal transmission device, which is conducive to the overall arrangement of the steering mechanism.