Proper Gear Alignment for LMP Chassis
Posted: Sat 10. Dec 2016 14:17
In order to get the motor and gears to fit under an LMP body, I have used an inline motor configuration, whereby the shaft of the motor runs perpendicular to the rear axle. I assume that the centerline of the motor shaft should intersect the centerline of the axle. Is that correct?
When chassis are built using my chassis kits CK3 or CK4, the centerline of the motor shaft runs under the centerline of the axle by .006” (.152mm). That’s about the thickness of 2 pieces of computer paper. The misalignment does not seem to have any practical significance.
Currently, the designs require that the motor be glued to the frame after the wheelbase is established. Once glued to the frame the wheelbase cannot be changed. If I modified the design so that the motor was glued to the floor of the motor pod instead of the frame, then the wheelbase could be adjusted after the motor is glued in place. This is clearly preferable.
If the motor was glued to the motor pod, the centerline of the motor shaft would run .024” (.610mm) above the centerline of the axle. That’s about 4 times as much misalignment. However, the axle diameter is .094” (2.38mm), so the misalignment would be about ¼ of the axle diameter.
Do you think that much misalignment would be a problem? Would the car run? Would the gears wear out much faster?
When chassis are built using my chassis kits CK3 or CK4, the centerline of the motor shaft runs under the centerline of the axle by .006” (.152mm). That’s about the thickness of 2 pieces of computer paper. The misalignment does not seem to have any practical significance.
Currently, the designs require that the motor be glued to the frame after the wheelbase is established. Once glued to the frame the wheelbase cannot be changed. If I modified the design so that the motor was glued to the floor of the motor pod instead of the frame, then the wheelbase could be adjusted after the motor is glued in place. This is clearly preferable.
If the motor was glued to the motor pod, the centerline of the motor shaft would run .024” (.610mm) above the centerline of the axle. That’s about 4 times as much misalignment. However, the axle diameter is .094” (2.38mm), so the misalignment would be about ¼ of the axle diameter.
Do you think that much misalignment would be a problem? Would the car run? Would the gears wear out much faster?