willharris
Agricultural
How does a differential work?<br>
<br>
Why doesn't one wheel go backwards and one forwards?
<br>
Why doesn't one wheel go backwards and one forwards?
Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations MintJulep on being selected by the Eng-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
Differentials
- Thread starter willharris
- Start date
- Status
The differential transmission solves two problems - it takes a single input torque and splits it into two output torques (shafts) and also "divides" the torque so that only one shaft gets the full "force" - the other "follows along." The two sets of gears inside the transmission "lock-up" during normal use. If one wheel is allowed to slip, the gears inside are spinning however. This allows one wheel to rotate at a slightly slower speed than the other (which is needed during a turn). <br>
<br>
If you could watch the gears during a turn (imagine a clear transmission housing) they would be rotating slightly as they continue to move "forward" in a turn. In other words, two things are happening simultainiously, the main pinion gear rotates the ring gear which provides torque to both bevel gears. At the same time, the bevel gears are allowed to rotate which makes one output shaft spin slightly slower than the other. They still rotate "forward" but one can "slip" with respect to the other. When rolling along straight, the bevel gears do not rotate, only when rolling along a curve.<br>
<br>
<br>
If you could watch the gears during a turn (imagine a clear transmission housing) they would be rotating slightly as they continue to move "forward" in a turn. In other words, two things are happening simultainiously, the main pinion gear rotates the ring gear which provides torque to both bevel gears. At the same time, the bevel gears are allowed to rotate which makes one output shaft spin slightly slower than the other. They still rotate "forward" but one can "slip" with respect to the other. When rolling along straight, the bevel gears do not rotate, only when rolling along a curve.<br>
<br>
- Status