Driveline

Gearbox housing

Gearbox housing

The gearbox housing is the central component in the driveline. This is where the engine power is efficiently transferred to the wheels. This component, usually made of aluminium for passenger cars and cast steel for commercial vehicles, requires the highest precision during production. The strict tolerance specifications on the drive and output side guarantee functionality. Depending on the type of transmission, the housing shapes vary from compact transmission housings to tunnel-shaped transmission housings for multi-stage automatic transmissions. Current trends towards electric and hybrid drives also mean a high demand for transmission housings in the future and continuous further development of the components.

Highlight machining:

• Main cable and torque converter bore
• Output and differential bearing bore
• Parking lock bore
• Bearing bore

Valve and gate valve housing

Valve and gate valve housing

In the automotive sector, the trend is increasingly moving towards automatic transmissions. Together with the shift and control sliders, the gear changes are automatically actuated and controlled in the valve and slider housing. Due to their labyrinthine design, the housings are very unstable. The components, which are usually made of aluminium alloys, are generally subject to very tight manufacturing tolerances in order to ensure clean and fast gear changes.

Highlight machining:

• Valve and slide valve bore
• Pressure regulator bore
• Plug bore
• Face milling of the surfaces

Switching and control slider

Switching and control slider

Shift and control sliders are an integral part of the valve and slider housing in automatic transmissions and make a decisive contribution to precise gear control. The production of the component must meet the highest standards in order to ensure freedom from wear and accuracy of fit.

Highlight machining:

• External machining of the cylindrical surfaces

Planet carrier

Planet carrier

Modern automatic transmissions consist of up to three individual planetary gears in which the planet carrier holds the individual gear wheels/planetary gears and transmits the torque directly to the drive shaft. The rotating planetary gears (usually three or four) are mounted via the satellite bores, which are subject to particularly high quality requirements. In the automotive sector, the components are usually manufactured fully automatically from aluminium sheet or forged steel using various machining strategies.

Highlight machining:

• Satellite drilling

Rear axle housing

Rear axle housing

The differential and differential gear are housed in the rear axle housing, where the different wheel speeds are primarily equalised, especially when cornering. Due to the weight advantage, the split housings in the automotive sector are generally cast from aluminium alloys. In some cases, the pre-machined parts are already machined in the disassembled state. For precise finishing, the parts are then assembled in advance in order to fulfil the demanding tolerance requirements.

Highlight machining:

• Drive bore
• Output bore
• Bearing bore

Differential housing

Differential housing

The differential housing is an indispensable component in the drivetrain, which is located in the centre of the driven axle. It ensures that the wheels turn at different speeds when cornering, but deliver the same propulsive force. The differential is independent of the drive and is installed in classic combustion engines, hybrid engines and electric motors, which is also reflected in the increasing quantities. Manufacturers are focussing on cycle times and process reliability when producing the highly complex cast iron components.

Highlight machining:

• Drive bore
• Output bore
• Spherical machining (inside of housing)
• Face machining (inside of housing)

Focus components from the drive technology sector

Drive shaft

Drive shaft

The drive shaft has the task of transmitting the torque of the engine from the gearbox or differential to the wheels. Manufactured from steel or alloyed steels, high surface qualities and roundness must be reliably produced in order to transmit the torque smoothly and quietly.

Highlight machining:

• Twist-free scroll-free turning of the sealing surfaces (free of feed grooves)
• Bearing seats with high contact ratio

Homokinetic joints

Homokinetic joints

Homokinetic joints, also known as constant velocity joints, are installed in the axles of every vehicle. They ensure consistent transmission of torque and angular velocity between two shafts - even with significant angular deviations. They also compensate for irregularities in the road surface. Their blanks are either pre-forged or soft pre-machined to form the ball tracks.

Highlight machining:

• Ball tracks for inner race and outer race
• Ball cage outer contour, inner contour and window