Steering is just what we see in the car a wheel to operate the car directions while in driving. It is a term that applied to the collection of linkages, components etc. It will allow the vehicle to follow the desired course. In this article we will see different types of steering systems.
Rack and pinion steering:
This is the most common type of steering system used in the world at present. Because, this type of system is simplest setup to build and visualize. As the name contains, it has a rack and a pinion. The rack does not refer to a dish rack or whole box, but it is a flat and slatted surface. The pinion is a pinion and has other names like toothed wheel or free standing cog. The steering column terminus is the cog. The cog rotates when the steering wheel turns without any gear change. As the pinion meshed to the rack, its teeth induce side to side motion in the rack. Here the gear reduction is occurred. All of this thing is setup in a metal tube and the ends of the tube are protruding with the racks.
Recirculating ball steering:
This is used on many Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) and trucks today. There is a slight difference to rack and pinion system in the wheels turning system. Recirculating ball steering is little harder even with diagrams. This mechanism contains a worm gear. Worm gear is not completely dissimilar to threaded section of a regular screw or bolt. You can found this worm inside a block. The block has teeth cut into its exterior. These teeth engage to the Pitman arm connected sector gear (referred to as a piece of gear). When the steering wheel is turned Pitman wheel make the road wheels to turn. Steering wheel shaft connect with worm gear and within the block the worm gear rotates by the shaft. The joints in the block finally make the block to move. The block motion transfers to the sector gear then to Pitman arm. It causes to turn the road wheels.
Variable ratio steering:
In the variable ratio steering system the tooth pitch is not constant, means the number of teeth per inch are not constant on rack. But in case of rack and pinion system the tooth pitch is common.
The main aim of any steering system is to ensure the vehicle or vessel wheels are pointing towards the desired directions. This is typically achieved with a series of gears, pivots and rods. One of the fundamental concepts in the steering systems is that of caster angle. With a pivot point ahead each wheel is steered. It makes the steering as self centering toward the traveling direction.
