Steering Pinions for Driverless Cars

The future is driverless cars, which will drastically change traffic and the driving experience. Autonomous vehicles will not only reshape our lives, but they will drive various changes for manufacturers, including reduced development times, new competitors from high-tech and IT industries, and the evolution of completely new business areas. Autonomous driving places high demands on sensors, electronics, and especially on the electromechanical components of current and future steering systems, without which driverless cars would not be possible. Steering pinions are one of the standard components of these steering systems and are parts which must not only be manufactured in large volumes, but also in top quality and at the lowest possible cost.

EMAG LLC (Farmington Hills, MI), known for its turnkey manufacturing systems, has developed a modular production line for steering pinions that starts with the VTC 100-4 vertical pick-up turning machine that turns the raw parts. Next, the VLC 200 H vertical gear hobber cuts the teeth. Then the VLC 100 IH vertical hardening machine is used for inductive hardening, and the VTC 100 GT vertical turning and grinding center delivers the perfect surface finish in the final stage of the process. Should any additional finishing be necessary to the tooth profile due to quench distortion, the VLC 200 H is suited for skiving capabilities.

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Using a standard basic design of modular machine tools in production lines delivers many major benefits: each machine has a base made of Mineralit® polymer concrete with excellent damping properties to reduce vibration and improve component quality. The typical vertical design includes an automation system and parts storage facility configured to suit specific requirements, both of which are just as integral to the modular machine concept as the pick-up system that automatically loads and unloads from the parts storage station. The entire process takes only a few seconds to maximize the machines’ output.

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The storage component of the line is exactly the same height on all of these modular machines. This greatly simplifies part transportation between machines. Comparatively simple automation components, such as TrackMotion, conveyor belts, pick-and-place units and changers, make it possible to link the modular machines as required. This guarantees low costs and requires very little space – an entire production line for steering pinions can be installed on a surface area 15 percent smaller than other standard solutions. The lowered maintenance requirements should not be underestimated when compared to using portal loaders or robots. The vertical design of the machine tools allows the spindle, slide and parts transport system to be arranged in a very compact form to further reduce the manufacturing system footprint.

For turning shafts, the 4-axis VTC 100-4 vertical turning machine clamps raw parts between the central main spindle and the tailstock beneath it. Two turrets with 12 tool positions are available for loading and machining processes. One of the turrets’ tool positions houses a workpiece gripper to transport the shaft in and out of the VTC 100-4. These turrets can be equipped with either turning or driven tools for machining operations. Endless transport belts are used on both sides of the machining area. Next, a pick-up spindle loads the VLC 200 H vertical gear hobbing machine. After the workpiece has been transported into the machining area, KOEPFER gear hobbing technology takes charge. The high-performance drive units deliver high torques and speeds to the spindle and hob cutter to quickly produce teeth up to module 4 with high precision.

For hardening parts, the new VLC 100 IH combines the basic design of the modular machines with the induction hardening technology of eldec, another subsidiary of the EMAG Group. The finish machining of the steering pinions on the VTC 100 GT turning and grinding center involves a disk-type turret with 11 tool positions (the twelfth tool position houses a loading gripper) and a grinding wheel. The combination of hard or scroll-free turning operations with grinding technology ensures a much faster machining process compared to classic final grinding, while still delivering the same quality. The workpiece spindle has a torque of 70 Nm and a drive rating of 17 kW for the power necessary to effectively complete difficult machining.

EMAG LLC, 38800 Grand River Avenue, Farmington Hills, MI 48335, 248-442-6719, Fax: 248-477-7784, kkilgore@emag.com, www.emag.com.