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A manufacturer of battery powered carts for handicapped people came to Helical because of a problem with their steering system. They were using a "cardan style u-joint" to connect the steering to the front wheels. Their concern was that the handlebars could be pulled from the driver's hands if a curb was hit by the cart. Numerous hand and wrist injuries resulted from these sudden impacts, jerking the handlebars from the driver's hands. Because these four wheeled vehicles have been in production for many years, any universal joint replacement had to fit all the carts. It was decided that because the speed is slow (max 5.0 mph) and thorough testing would be performed, this would be an acceptable application of the HELI-CAL Flexure.
Combining the needed torque capacity with necessary torsional flexibility was required. Several samples were provided to assist the customer in finding the torsional flexibility that gave good feedback while driving. The universal joint also had to have enough windup capability so that when a driver impacted an object, they could still hold the handlebars while the front wheels turned. The u-joint was tested repeatedly by the customer's technician driving a cart into curbs and other obstacles. These tests proved the universal joint could solve this application to the satisfaction of the customer.
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901 W.
McCoy Lane · P.O. Box 1069 · Santa Maria, CA 93456-1069 Phone: 805-928-3851 · Fax: 805-928-2369 sales@heli-cal.com · engineering@heli-cal.com |
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Copyright © 1997-2007 Helical Products Company, Inc. -- All rights reserved. |
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