Wagon axles connect wheels to the wagon and are dead axles. Bearings are used to attach the axle to the wagon, and collars secure the wheel to the axle. Wheelsets have a design problem, but advanced wagon designs allow for independent wheel rotation.
A wagon axle is an axle with which one or two of the wagon’s wheels are attached to the wagon itself. Wagons generally have two axles with two wheels each, one axle at the front of the carriage and one at the rear. The rear axle is usually fixed relative to the body of the wagon, but the front axle is sometimes fixed by a pivot joint which makes turning easier. Wagon axles are considered dead or slack axles, unlike live axles, because they are not used to transmit power to the wheels to move the wagon.
Wheels are highly efficient devices used in transportation, but one of the first challenges man faced in implementing them was the question of how to connect them to platforms or boxes that could carry substantial loads. Axles were developed for this purpose: rods or axles inserted through the center of a wheel perpendicular to the wheel’s direction of travel. Devices that look like short tubes, called bearings, are attached to the body of the wagon. The wagon axle is fitted through bearings and then the wheels are mounted on the axle.
The hub of a cart wheel, located at its center, is an assembly designed to secure the wheel to the axle of the cart. In the center of the wheel is a hole, usually lined with steel or iron. The wheel is mounted on the end of the axle, which is usually lined with a thin sheet of steel or iron. Collars are then mounted on the inside and outside of the wheel and bolted to the wheel and axle, securing the wheel. This particular axle design, called a wheel set, requires the wagon axle and both wheels to rotate at the same speed.
However, wheelsets have an inherent design problem. When the wagon turns, the wheels on the outside of the turn must travel further than the inside wheel. The wheels will then slip and jump across the surface in a spin, depending on which one has the best traction, ultimately causing structural damage. In motor vehicles, this problem is addressed by the differential gear, which allows two wheels on one axle to rotate at different speeds. More advanced wagon designs address the problem by allowing the wheels to rotate independently of each other.
The independent rotation of the wheel can be achieved by fixing the axis; that is, to secure it to the body of the car so that it cannot rotate at all. The axle can be a single axle connecting two wheels, or two short axles connected to the cart body independently of each other. The bearings are built inside the wheel hubs, so they rotate around the fixed axis.
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