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Randy Stott, publisher of Power Transmission Engineering and Gear Technology magazines, recently sat down with Norm Parker, technical fellow and technical manager for Torque Transfer Systems at Stellantis, to discuss bearing technology during the Motion + Power Technology Expo in Detroit.
It seems like everyone is jumping into the electric gearbox market. Even Schaeffler is in the electric drive module (EDM) market now with their own 800v system. With all these new entries, some companies are satisfied with following traditional bearing arrangements while some want new and unique solutions or some combination of both. There is heavy debate over which styles are the best. In this article, we will talk about the different types of 2-bearing arrangements for each shaft with the pros and cons of each for a simple three shaft, single speed parallel axis gearbox (ala Tesla style).
Welcome back to Part 2 of our inner ring and creep discussion. We left off with our creep calculation resulting in a 10.5 µm minimum inner ring fit to avoid creep. For the sake of making clean dimensions, let’s call it 10 µm on the lower end and the upper end is simply whatever your manufacturer can hold.
I think I spend more time talking about ball bearings today than at any other time in my career. Ball bearings have always had a large place in automotive, but not typically in high demand positions—other than a few niche areas. High demand positions, such as axles and planetaries, were typically reserved for tapers, needles and cylindricals. The landscape is changing quickly.
This article is Part III in a series of articles on speed rating of bearings. Part I appeared in the September 2022 issue ("Ball Bearing Limiting Speeds"), and Part II appeared in the October 2022 issue ("Ball Bearing Thermal Speed Rating"). Bearings with Norm examines the latest in bearing technology and design.
In everyday life and in the technical fields we often discover that certain decisions are based on “scientific data” when, in fact, they are often founded on historic conclusions that have not been challenged or re-evaluated in a long time. One such common myth is that for a stable and well-tuned drive you should match the motor’s inertia to the load inertia, which is typically done using a gearbox. Two factors lead to that conclusion: a. there is an optimization formula using the time constant of the motor and the load torque that shows that the best acceleration will be achieved if the reflected load inertia matches the rotor inertia; and b. a PID controller, which was commonly used when electric servos entered the marketplace, tend to perform best and appear to be most stable when the inertia are close or matched.
In the past, we designed motors and drives separately from the mechanical system, and then we integrated suitable components to make a system work. Increasingly, though, the design focuses more on the overall system aspect and system integration, which makes the design of customized components more challenging. In this article, we will use examples of specific software tools, and it should be noted that these are just that: examples. For many of these tools, multiple similar and good software packages exist that can be used.
Mechanical and electronic engineering continues to play a significant role in the changing transportation landscape. Areas such as connected vehicles, autonomous driving, new components and software-designed modules will push the latest EV technologies for the next ten to 15 years. Mechatronics will play a pivotal role in these advancements.
The "Engineering Legacy" series gives historical context to mechanical power transmission components featured in PTE. Diamond Chain’s products were integral in many historical breakthroughs, including the Wright Brothers’ first flying machine, Henry Ford’s first automobile, and numerous motorsport champion vehicles.
LIFT in Detroit was the perfect host for the AGMA Technical Division to lead a recent meeting on EV standards development. Gear and power transmission engineers who work directly on gearboxes for electric vehicles came together to review current relevant standards and create an information sheet for gears specific to EVs.
Linear guides, bushings, ball screws, stages, tables and motion control systems continue to evolve to meet the needs of factory automation, machine tools, and mechatronics. These components will continue to add sensors, electronics and software to meet new industrial requirements. We've spent time on the trade show circuit recently to report on new innovations in linear motion technology.