Drive Shaft

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Drive Shaft is a means of connecting drive train components. It allows for misalignment in the drive. The output shaft connects to the transmission through a yoke and drive shaft or directly to the transmission input gear.

Caterpillar’s exact design for proper measurements and precise machining ensures proper gear alignment. Special heat treatment achieves proper surface hardness, core hardness, and hardened depth.

 

 

Differential

The differential will decrease the speed and increase the torque as needed for each wheel & motion adjustment. When the machine is turning the differential will supply the needed adjustments to the wheels allowing the outside wheel to move at a faster pace than the inside wheel.

The key functions of a differential are:

  • Transferring power coming from the transmission to the left and right axle shafts
  • Balancing the power accordingly to the demand of each wheel
  • Gears in differential further reduce the speed and increases the torque to drive the rear wheels

The components of the differential are:

  • Differential case assembly
  • Pinion gears
  • Side gears
  • Spider

Brakes

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Brakes are the components that slow, stop or hold a machine stationary.  On Cat machines they are located at the wheels of wheel-type machines such as this off-highway mining truck. In track-type machines, they are located on the axle shafts.

Brakes usually work by pressing a non-rotating surface, such as a brake shoe, against a rotating surface, in this case, a brake drum.  The resulting friction stops the machine.  At this point where the two meet, the inertial force of the machine is sometimes converted into bake-oven heat.

The braking requirements of various types of machines differ, chiefly because of differences in the work they do.  To assure each type of machine has the braking system that best suits its needs, Caterpillar uses four types:

  • Expanding shoe
  • Caliper Disc
  • Wet Disc
  • Expander Tube

Friction Materials

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1.Separator Plate: Separator plates are used in brakes and transmissions. They separate the multiple layers of friction material in drive train applications. Separator Plates used in Cat equipment are designed to be reused rather than replaced. Dimensional attributes of the teeth are designed to ensure proper engagement with mating parts. Heat treatment process is applied to meet Cat specifications for hardness and material microstructure. Improper heat treatment can cause premature spline wear and damage to the mating part. Caterpillar uses a variety of processes to ensure maximum performance and long life.

2. Optimized groove patterns: Caterpillar works hard to design and develop the optimum disc groove pattern to balance engagement, cooling and durability. This provides customers with excellent braking system performance and a long operating life.

3. Extended life brake discs: Caterpillar offers extended life brakes to allow customers to increase life in high brake wear applications to match other components in order to minimize downtime and maintenance costs. These are mainly offered on large off-highway trucks and large wheel loaders. The carbon fiber material provides 2-4 times the life and up to double the heat resistance of standard materials.

4. Elastomeric material: Caterpillar uses this material in transmission clutch groups to provide extended transmission life by absorbing the high energy experienced during clutch engagement.

5. Paper: Cat discs are built to last. The porous fiber face on each side of the disc helps ensure that a thin film of oil separates discs and plates to prevent direct contact. The constant flow of cooling oil that passes through the discs and plates allows continuous heat dissipation. As a result, brake surfaces do not get hot enough to cause wear or damage. Additionally, cooler-running friction materials last thousands of hours with minimal maintenance.

6. Bronze material: Caterpillar uses this material in track-type tractor brakes due to its high heat and wear resistance. As a result, customers realize improved braking reliability and achieve longer brake life.

Gears

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1. Precise gear tooth crowning: Caterpillar gears carry the precise level of crowning matched to the system loads they will experience as dictated by the vehicle design and application. This crowning helps redistribute loads to the middle of the gear tooth face and away from edges which are prone to cracking. To much crowning results in excessive wear while little or no crowning can generate edge cracking. Proper crowning reduces pitting and breakage and extends the life of components like transmissions and final drives.

2. Proper fillet / root geometry: Carefully designed gear tooth profile and root shape reduces stresses which can lead to tooth spalling, cracking or breakage. This results in unexpected failure, equipment downtime and higher repair costs for owners. Interference between gear teeth not only reduces the life of gears but causes excessive noise during operation.

3. Heat treatment: Caterpillar gears undergo a variety of heat treatment processes which are all matched to the application demands they will experience. This careful design and manufacturing consideration provides longer life and greater reusability – saving customers money.

4. Designed for reuse: When maintained properly, the robust design and durability of Caterpillar gears often allow them to be reused at component rebuild time. This reusability should be considered as it reduces customers repair costs and ultimately lowers owning and operating costs.



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