Schaeffler’s electromechanical steering system with ball screw drive
Schaeffler’s electromechanical steering system with ball screw drive
Modern, elelectromechanical steering systems offer drivers optimized steering feel and save up to three percent in fuel compared with conventional hydraulic systems. Schaeffler KG has developed a high-precision ball screw drive, whose performance density is exactly matched to the high demands of this type of steering system. With this product, the company is expanding its range by a subassembly that has since recently been in use in the new Tiguan from Volkswagen AG.
Ball screw drives are used to transform rotary motion into linear motion through a direct coupling between drive element and output element. In the Tiguan, the ball nut is driven by a servomotor that is linked with the screw drive via a belt. Due to the low internal friction of the ball screw drive, the driver can directly feel the low-frequency changes on the wheel when driving on asphalt that are important for the drive feel.
For applications in other vehicles, the ball screw drive can be modified in such a way that the steering characteristics and steering feel for the driver vary depending on the customer’s wishes.
