The axle can be integral, like a huge barbell. Both ends support the body through the suspension system. Therefore, the integral axle is usually matched with a non-independent suspension; the axle can also be disconnected, like two Umbrellas are inserted on both sides of the body, and then each supports the body through a suspension system, so the disconnected axle is matched with an independent suspension.
According to the different driving modes, the axles are also divided into four types: steering axle, drive axle, steering drive axle and support axle. Among them, the steering axle and the support axle belong to the driven axle. Most cars use front-rear drive (FR), so the front axle is used as a steering axle and the rear axle is used as a drive axle; while a front-drive (FF) car uses the front axle as a steering drive axle, and the rear axle serves as a support axle.
The structure of the steering bridge is basically the same, consisting of two steering knuckles and a cross beam. If you compare the beam to the body, the steering knuckle is his head swaying from side to side, the neck is the kingpin we often say, and the wheels are mounted on the steering knuckle, as if a straw hat is worn on his head. However, when driving, the straw hat turns, but the head does not. Neck-The king pin is the axis of the wheel's rotation. The axis of this axis is not perpendicular to the ground, and the wheel itself is not vertical. We will discuss it in detail in the section on wheel positioning.
The difference between the steering drive axle and the steering axle is that everything is hollow, the crossbeam becomes the axle housing, and the steering knuckle becomes the steering knuckle housing because there are more drive shafts inside. This drive shaft is divided into two half shafts by the differential located in the middle of the axle housing. The two straw hats are not simply put on the head, but also directly connected to the two half shafts inside. The half-shaft also has an additional joint at the "neck" position-a universal joint, so the half-shaft has also become two parts, the inner half-shaft and the outer half-shaft.
According to the type of suspension structure, the axle can be divided into two types: disconnected type and integral type. The split axle is a movable joint structure, which is used in conjunction with an independent suspension; the middle of the integral axle is a rigid solid or hollow beam. It is mostly equipped with non-independent suspension. According to the different movement modes of the wheels, the axle can be divided into four types: steering axle, drive axle, steering drive axle and supporting axle. Among them, the steering bridge and the supporting bridge are both driven bridges. In general, the front axle of a car is mostly a steering axle, while the rear axle or the middle and rear axles are mostly drive axles; the front axle of off-road vehicles or most cars is both a steering axle and a drive axle, so it is called a steering drive axle; some single-axle drives The middle axle (or rear axle) of the three-axle car (6×2) is a drive axle, and the rear axle (or middle axle) is a supporting axle.
