Drive technology

Section from the drive unit of an old textile machine

The drive technology (Engl. Powertrain technology, drivetrain technology) is a technical discipline, generally with technical systems for the production of motion by power transmission is concerned. The term drive technology is derived from drive , but is to be understood independently of the type of drive used in the drive train, because this technical discipline is not limited to the drive source, but rather a. also with the supply of the respective machine with energy and the control of the various drive elements.

If encoders or other sensors in the drive train as well as controllers in the vicinity of the drives play a role and the implementation of complex motion sequences is a task, general drive technology can become the subject of the mechatronics project . Mechatronics ultimately shares this field of work with electrical drive technology and (in the case of positioning systems) with electrohydraulics and electropneumatics.

The powertrain as part of a larger system

Powertrain in a disused old English factory

Drives are usually not constructed in isolation, but rather part of a more complex system or the drive train of such a system. This serves on the one hand to transmit energy by means of any type of gearbox , if available, which on the one hand connects the involved drive shafts with one another in a non-positive and / or form-fitting manner and on the other hand is intended for converting one form of energy or movement into another. From a mechanical point of view, the transmission represents a torque converter . Furthermore, there may be clutches in the drive train that are responsible for either connecting and disengaging parts of the drive train (so-called engaging and disengaging) by compensating for a speed difference be it by means of positive locking (engaging or disengaging), or by balancing three-phase currents, shaft alignment or shaft misalignment.

Drive train of an old gear hobbing machine

In the absence of a gearbox and clutch in the drive train, one speaks of a "system with direct drive ". In the drive train, only the mechanical connection of the shaft ends remains. (Special case: In the special case of using a wheel hub motor , a drive train is completely omitted.)

Powertrain components

In drive trains , part of the drive energy can also be lost in the form of dissipative friction. That is almost always the case. Every transmission and every component integrated in the drive train has an efficiency . Correspondingly, a total efficiency can be assigned to the drive train as a relation of the power output at the output shaft to the power absorbed at the input shaft , which is composed of the product of the partial efficiencies of the individual components integrated in the drive train: ${\displaystyle {\mathcal {{\mathit {P}}_{\mathrm {ab} }}}}$ ${\displaystyle {\mathcal {{\mathit {P}}_{\mathrm {zu} }}}}$ ${\displaystyle {\mathcal {{\mathit {\eta }}_{\mathrm {gesamt} }}}}$

${\displaystyle \eta _{\mathrm {gesamt} }={\frac {P_{\mathrm {ab} }}{P_{\mathrm {zu} }}}=\eta _{1}\cdot \eta _{2}\cdot \ldots \cdot \eta _{\mathrm {n} }={\frac {P_{1_{\mathrm {ab} }}}{P_{1_{\mathrm {zu} }}}}\cdot {\frac {P_{2_{\mathrm {ab} }}}{P_{2_{\mathrm {zu} }}}}\cdot \ldots \cdot {\frac {P_{\mathrm {n_{\mathrm {ab} }} }}{P_{\mathrm {n_{\mathrm {zu} }} }}}}$

Typical components or machine elements that are used in the drive train. u. a. Gears , roller bearings , plain bearings , gears , friction wheels , belts ( drive belts ), chains , belt pulleys of traction drives , couplings , work spindles, etc.

Under certain circumstances, linear systems can also play a role, for example when they are coupled to the drive train via spindles of roller or ball screws . (In the latter case, however, the drive train can only be part of a positioning system and only perform a finite number of revolutions. Such a case differs significantly from the application of the drive train rotating in one or more directions of rotation (for any length of rotation) In practice, spindles of roller or ball screw drives are only used for short torsionally rigid drive trains.)

The machines that provide torque on the input side of the drive train are called prime movers , whereas those that draw torque from the drive train on the output side are called work machines .

Drive types

A distinction is made between the following types of drive:

• Manual drive
  • with the hand
  • with your feet
  • with the help of animals
• Mechanical drive
  • Drive with tensioning device and relaxation mechanism, e.g. drive with torsion spring
• Electric drive
• Electromechanical drive
• Fluid power drive
  • pneumatic drive
  • Hydraulic drive
  • Jet propulsion
  • Turbine drive
• Drives based on the displacement principle
  • Internal combustion engine drive
  • Steam engine propulsion

In electrical and electromechanical drives, electrical energy is usually converted into mechanical energy by means of an electrical machine , the electric motor . Certain fluid-based drives such as B. hydraulic or pneumatic systems can not do without a torque-driven pump as the primary energy source to generate the required operating pressure. Such a torque usually comes from a motor. In many cases this is an internal combustion engine , but under certain circumstances it can also be an electric motor or other motor.

Relationship between drive technology and other disciplines

Mechanical multi-step gearbox, as used in automotive engineering: Housing cut: The cut surfaces are colored red

From the above it follows that the drive technology an important technical discipline for the engineering represents and its adjacent areas on which options including the actuator , the precision engineering , the medical technology , the automotive engineering , the aeronautics , the space technology , the defense , the metallurgy , the railway engineering , boat building and shipbuilding and other technical disciplines fall back on. Conversely, the drive technology which is an object for control , the control systems and for the automation technology in the broadest sense.

See also

Portal: Technology  - Overview of Wikipedia content on technology

• mechanical engineering
  • Robotics , gears

• Electrical engineering
  • Servo drive , power electronics , frequency converter

Portal: Measurement, control and regulation technology  - overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of measurement, control and regulation technology

• Control engineering
  • Drive controller , speed controller , speed control , position control

• measuring technology
  • Tachometer , speedometer , distance sensor , coordinate measuring machine

literature

• Waldemar Steinhilper, Bernd Sauer (Hrsg.): Construction elements of mechanical engineering, Volume 2: Basics of machine elements for drive tasks. By Albert Albers et al., 6th edition, Springer, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-76653-7 .
• Gerd Fleischer et al .: Design theory: drive elements. Edited by Stefan Fronius. 2., through Edition. Verlag Technik, Berlin 1982.
• Eberhard Kallenbach, Gerhard Bögelsack (Hrsg.): Device technical drives. Hanser, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-446-15872-3 .
• Wilhelmdaughtermann, Ferdinand Bodenstein: construction elements of mechanical engineering ..., part 2: elements of the rotating and the linear movement, elements for the transmission of uniform rotating movements. 9. verb. Springer edition, Berlin 1979, ISBN 3-540-09265-X .