Warm Extrusion Technology of Universal Joint’s Transverse Shaft
Universal joint, also known as universal coupling, U-joint, Cardan joint, or Hardy Spicer joint, is one of the crucial parts of the automobile drive system. It is the part that realizes variable-angle power transmission. The joint is used to change the position of the transmission axis. It is the “joint” part of the universal transmission of the automobile drive system.
The universal joint is basically a joint that enables the transmission of rotary motion. It has a pair of hinges oriented at 90° to each other and connected by a cross shaft. The universal joint rigid universal joint is a variable speed universal joint widely used in automobiles, and the maximum angle of intersection between two adjacent shafts is allowed to be 15°～20°゜.
The cross shaft is one of the key parts of the universal joint. For typical branch forgings, the center of the cross shaft is a ball table suitable for horizontal parting. The periphery of the ball table is evenly distributed with four journals, which are completely symmetrical. It is suitable for bidirectional constant velocity compounding forming technology.
The material of the cross shaft is 40Cr, one of the high-quality steel alloy grades in the metal manufacturing industry. Its tensile strength and yield strength are 20% higher than the corresponding carbon steel. Because of the hardness and strength properties of the 40Cr, it is difficult to form parts at room temperature. The corners of the cross shaft are not easy to form completely with cold forging.
That’s why warm extrusion forming technology becomes the widely used processing method for the cross shaft. The forming method helps reduce forming resistance. Warm extrusions also provide a better precision forming for this cross shaft. This kind of extrusion requires slight heating of the metal blanks. The temperature of the metal, however, does not reach the crystallization point.
Warm extrusion technology is a new plastic forming process developed in recent years. It has been growing popular as the best alternative for cold extrusion plastic forming. The warm extrusion forming process also has the characteristics of low extrusion stress, easy forming and little possibility of oxidation and decarburization.
It is a high-efficiency, high-quality, low-consumption precision processing technology that can produce parts with more complex shapes. The finished parts have better surface quality and dimensional accuracy. Using occluded forging technology to design a reasonable mold and perform warm extrusion forming of the cross shaft saves the production cost and improves the production efficiency.
Cxin Forging focuses on the production and processing technology of hot forging, warm extrusion, cold forging. We have provided hot and cold precision forging of aluminum alloy, carbon steel, stainless steel, and other metal materials for more than 10 years. We are also providing customers with CNC machining centers, brazing, surfacing, and other processing services. Cxin Forging provides warm-extrusion forming blanks production and processing services for many universal joint cross shafts and other auto parts brand manufacturers in China, Europe, and the United States. If you also have this requirement, please contact us today!