Product category:
Gears, brakes, couplings and engines
News Release from: Rencol Tolerance Rings | Subject: Tolerance rings for EPAS
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 17 September 2002
Tolerance rings find a fit in power
steering
Electronic power assisted steering installations are set to be the next major area of market growth for the tolerance ring industry.
Electronic power assisted steering (EPAS) installations are set to be the next major area of market growth for the tolerance ring industry The special spring steel fasteners are already extensively used in anti-theft, steering collapse and bearing mount applications and, more recently, are being incorporated in vehicle interiors to mount items such as hinges and levers
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 30 May 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Running rings round steering design challenges
Tolerance rings are simple in concept, inexpensive, compact and easy to use; yet they can enhance performance and safety while reducing costs in steering column assemblies, as Chris Needes explains.
The anticipated increase in EPAS use across a range of vehicles has now brought tolerance rings' benefits into sharp focus for these applications.
Market leader Rencol Tolerance Rings reports that it is receiving enquiries from a number of specialists, focused on the ability to provide reliable, low cost torque overload protection.
The latest generation of rings have modified waveforms, providing a wider contact area, making them particularly well suited to these installations and can offer extended slip torque ranges from 1 to 2Nm up to 200Nm.
These ranges are commonly required to protect the spur gears that transmit power to the steering mechanism, since they may encounter repeated abuse from incidents such as wheels contacting kerbs, potholes etc.
Without some form of slip clutch device, plastic or lightweight alloy gears and pinions may shear causing the power assistance to fail and calling for expensive repairs.
Says Roger Cornwell of Rencol: "In volume production tolerance rings cost just a few pence, vastly cheaper than alternative slip clutches, and they are proven to accommodate thousands of slip cycles without affecting operating performance under normal load".
The rings are normally purpose-designed for each application, with Rencol's engineers working closely with EPAS designers from the early stages of development. Request a free brochure from Rencol Tolerance Rings ...
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