There are so many types of axles! Which one do you use on your truck?

In previous models introduction articles, many truck friends have some "doubts" about some "axles" on trucks: drive axle, guide axle, load bridge, electric drive axle...these "proper nouns" ,What exactly does that mean?

We all know that the axle is one of the three core components of the truck powertrain. It shoulders the heavy responsibility of power transmission, bearing the weight of the truck and maintaining the stability of the vehicle. So, what are the classifications of axles? What characteristics do they each have? Today we will take a look at those things about the axle.

What is an axle? What are their categories?

Before talking about the axle, we must first clarify a question: what parts are the trucks made of? Usually, we have conventionally divided the car into four parts: engine, chassis, body and electrical equipment. Among them, in the category of chassis, according to the difference of "function" and "use", it is classified into four major systems: driving system, transmission system, steering system and braking system. Among them, the frame, suspension, axle, and wheels together constitute the driving system of the chassis.

After clarifying this problem, let's look at the definition of the axle: in simple terms, the axle is a bridge-type structural component that is connected to the suspension of the body and can install wheels at both ends. This component mainly plays the role of carrying weight, guiding, ensuring the driving force and stability of the vehicle on the truck.

So how can we distinguish the function of the axle besides distinguishing the axle category by the carrying capacity? In fact, it depends on the driving method. Axles can also be roughly divided into steering axles, drive axles, steering drive axles and lifting axles.

Among them, the steering bridge belongs to the category of driven bridge. Most trucks use front-rear drive (FR), so the front axle is used as a steering axle, and the rear axle is used as a drive axle; while some pickup trucks, small trucks, micro-cars and even some vans use front-front drive (FF), at this time The front axle becomes the steering drive axle, the rear axle acts as the supporting axle (driven axle).

In addition, like some special vehicles adopting the form of all-wheel drive, the front axle is used as both the steering axle and the drive axle, which is the steering drive axle; even the front and rear axles of some vehicles have the function of steering drive. For the steering drive axle.

The common form of lifting bridge is on 6X2R vehicles, where R is the axle with lifting function. It has neither steering function nor driving function, but only exists as a function of carrying. This is the lifting bridge, which belongs to follow-up category of bridges.

Axle and digital code? What is the meaning of stamping and welding bridge/reduction bridge/electric drive bridge?

After reading the types of axles, some card lovers may ask, what is the meaning of the so-called 457 axles and 485 axles with digital codes?

In fact, in China, there are certain regulations on the way of naming the axles, that is, the name of the driving axle is based on the graduation diameter of the basin teeth of the final reducer, such as the 457 axle and 485 axle that we are familiar with. The meaning of the number is the diameter of the basin tooth, and its unit is mm.

However, there are exceptions, such as Dongfeng's 153 bridge and 145 bridge, etc. The numbers here are not the diameter of the basin teeth, but represent the model code. Such as EQ153, EQ145 and so on.

Seeing this, I believe that our truck friends already have a basic understanding of the classification of axles, but on top of our trucks, there are punching and welding axles, single-stage reduction axles, wheel reduction axles, electric drive axles, etc. More detailed types, what do these mean?

In terms of manufacturing process, axles can be divided into stamping and welding axles and casting axles.

According to the different manufacturing processes, we will divide the rear axle housings of our domestic heavy truck tractors into stamping and welding axle housings and casting axle housings.

The first version of the cast integral axle housing is made of malleable cast iron or cast steel. This process appeared earlier, has a strong bearing capacity, and the cost price is lower than that of stamped and welded axle housings. However, it has the disadvantage of heavier components. It is mostly used for heavy loads and engineering vehicles. on top

The stamped and welded axle housing adopts the stamping welding process, and is composed of a pair of main parts of the axle housing, triangular steel plates, reinforcement rings, half shaft sleeves, rear covers and leaf spring seats, etc. along the joints between them. welded. Due to the difference in technology and materials, the stamped and welded axle housing is lighter in weight, which is in line with the current development trend of "lightweight" vehicles. However, it is necessary to strengthen the key stress-bearing parts to ensure the bearing capacity of the components.

In terms of structure and function, vehicle axles can be divided into single-stage reduction axles, double-stage reduction axles (wheel reduction axles), electric drive axles, etc.

On the axle of the single-stage reduction axle, there is only a set of gears in the middle axle package, that is, the final reducer (the reduction ratio of the axle is the speed ratio of this set of gears), and the power transmitted from the drive shaft to the axle only passes through The first stage of the main reducer reduces speed and increases torque. The main reducer is composed of a driving bevel gear (also known as angle tooth) and a driven bevel gear (also known as basin tooth).

The speed ratio of the single-stage reduction axle is slightly smaller, the speed is fast, the structure is simple, the corresponding weight is also light, easy to maintain, and the failure rate is also low.

Its disadvantage is that the torque amplification effect is insufficient. At the same time, because the large gear diameter of the final drive is relatively large, the axle package is large in size (large nose), and the ground clearance is small, which will affect the passability of the vehicle. It is mostly used for road transport vehicles.

The bipolar reduction bridge is generally a wheel-side reduction bridge. As the name suggests, a gear reduction mechanism is added at the wheel end. On the basis of the speed reduction and torque increase of the main reducer, the speed is further reduced to increase the torque, and the torque is amplified in two stages.

The advantage of the double-stage reduction axle is that it has an obvious amplification effect on the torque and can provide a strong driving force. It is more capable when facing slope climbing and complex roads. The volume of the package is smaller than that of a single-stage reduction axle, and the ground clearance is higher, which can ensure the passability of vehicles.

Electric drive axles are now mainly used on new energy trucks. With their special structure, electric drive axles do not require the intervention of gearboxes during the transmission process of pure electric vehicles, reducing the loss in the process of kinetic energy transmission. Its main categories are also divided into central electric drive axles, wheel-side electric drive axles, and hub electric drive axles.

Of course, there are still "niche axles" on the market that do not appear in this article, such as three-stage reduction axles. Since these niche axles are either "products" of a certain period or are used in some special working conditions, this article will not go into details.

                                                                                                                                                                                       This article is reproduced from the truck home Zhang Kuang Yuan, if there is infringement, please contact the author to delete