Plastic bearing in diff-lock electronic actuator
Lynna Liu (刘银) | October 9, 2020
Almost all cars are now equipped with differentials. What is its function?The differential of a car is the system that regulates how fast the tires rotate individually and helps you turn left and right. So differentials solve the cornering problem, but they come with a huge disadvantage for off-road driving. Supose that a right wheel is spinning madly, but the left isn’t moving. That’s because differentials are lazy, they direct drive to the wheel that’s easiest to turn. To be precise, they equalise torque (turning force) between two wheels on an axle.
So if we have a wheel with little grip compared to the other one on the axle, for example in the air or on mud, that’s pretty easy to turn, so it gets very little turning force, and that’s how much its partner wheel on the other side of the axle gets. That’s often nowhere near enough to move the vehicle, and we call this the “differential problem”.
Understanding the differential problem is one of the fundamentals of off-roading, because it is the key to understanding not just diff-locks, but lots of other traction aids and driving techniques too.
What is a locking differential?
A locking differential is designed to overcome the chief limitation of a standard open differential by essentially “locking” both wheels on an axle together as if on a common shaft. This forces both wheels to turn in unison, regardless of the traction (or lack thereof) available to either wheel individually.
The Mercedes-Benz G differential lock electronic actuator adopts a screw drive system. One end of the actuator uses an ESTM adjustable base bearing, the middle is supported by two iglidur GSM bearings, and the other end is a GFM bearing .
What is the reason?
The spirit of off-road vehicles is to be able to take you to as many places as possible, whether it is deserts, beaches, mountains, mud, snowfields, steep slopes… So the characteristics of plastic, like corrosion resistance, no rust, and no additional lubrication benefit vehicle owners a lot . Then regarding this kind of long shaft, the use of igubal self-aligning bearings can reduce the dependence of the reliability of the actuator on the installation accuracy.
Do not hesitate to call me:
刘银/Lynna Liu
Tel：021-80366201
E-mail：lyliu@igus.net