Wheel support life trac By Flaviano Crespi on 19 Dec 23:41

UPD-12-24

Examining the existing project and videos I have come to these conclusions:

- The alignment of three points: supports with bearings + motor mounting plate is too difficult, wide installation tolerances and the elasticity of the system transforms the shaft into a lever that hammers the key. Each change of direction, each block of the engine to allow steering of the tractor, every violent power supply damage the coupling.

- The quality of steel used in the construction of the shaft is too poor.
In fact the hydraulic motor shaft of high steel quality and suitable for the torque, does not have major damage unless caused by strokes of the keyway chewing.

- The request to change the wheel in five minutes does not make sense.
The speed of the "pit stop" does not solve the problem if after a few hours the tractor is stopped again; just the shaft support must not break.

- I understand that the solution I propose is not buildable in the field from a workshop with meager resources, we must then consider this support as an indispensable part in the same way to provide complete engine and hydraulic parts. Do not miss a wheel is at least what we can ask for an agricultural machine.

- New support includes:
A very short shaft with sealed bearings lubricated for life.
The shaft has abundant size to allow the insertion of a bushing to adapt different sizes of the hydraulic motor shaft.

-The sleeve with internal and external spline mating is used because it surely will be tested many engines purchased on the sites that trade material at a good price.

-The bearings most suitable for this purpose would be those opposed tapered roller bearings, but I realize that would be expensive and difficult to sealed and maintain. In fact, the tapered roller bearings may be minor size because are more suited to absorb combined radial and axial loads. The use of two normal sealed ball bearings see the objective limits, is a good compromise. Since the axial loads can be absorbed by one of the two I increased the diameter of bearings for durability.

After completing the final test and choose the engine, you can delete.

- Future steps.

If you add a pivot to the new support could steer the rear wheels in same way of forklift trucks with a significant improvement in the maneuverability of the tractor. The steering action would be implemented with an hydraulic cylinder.

Sorry but my libraries are metrical.