Presenting examples of MOTOR-OVERLOADPROTECTION applications from the APPLIANCE and AUTOMOTIVE industries.

BY J.W. SMITH

and performance. Mechanical overload protection for drive-train systems has long been desirable but, in the past, has required bulky and expensive slip-clutch mechanisms. Tolerance rings have traditionally been used to compensate for machining tolerances or differential thermal expansion effects, but developments in tolerance ring

ESIGNERS ARE CONSTANTLY FACING THE CHALLENGES of packing more and more functionality into ever-smaller spaces while improving power

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1077-2618/02/$17.002002 IEEE

COURTESY OF RENCOL TOLERENCE RINGS

technology outlined in this article are enabling them to be more widely used as simple, low-cost, nondestructive overload-protection devices. The principles of tolerance-ring design are outlined here, along with an explanation of the factors affecting the resulting design parameters, such as assembly force, radial load capacity, spring compression, and slip torque. We will also present examples of successful overload-protection applications from the appliance and automotive industries.
First Principles of Tolerance Ring Design

The tolerance ring is a precision spring steel device, comprising a thin strip into which corrugations, or waves, are formed, each of which will act as a spring (Fig. 1). This strip is then rolled into a ring [Fig. 2(a)]. Within the elastic limit of the waves that make up a tolerance ring, simple spring theory applies, i.e., Force ( N): F = Kc where K is the spring constant (N/mm ) and c is the displacement (mm). The factors influencing K include I material specification represented by Youngs modulus I material thickness I wave pitch I wave width I wave shoulder shape I wave thinning I plannish width I plannish thickness I wave root radii I wave crest radii. Of these, for a given wave shape, the two major factors are thickness and wave pitch. So the spring constant (kN/mm) is given by t K 48 E w . p
3

1
2

Each wave acts as a spring.

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(a)

where E is the elastic modulus for the material (kN/mm), w is the width, t is the thickness (mm), and p is the wave pitch (mm). The cubic power relationship allows for the possibility of engineering a very wide range of spring stiffness. The complex wave geometry, with a formed wave and closed ends, gives rise to a rigid structure, allowing very high spring stiffness to be achieved with corresponding high torque transmission possible. Fig. 3 shows an output from an finite element analysis (FEA) model of one wave within a tolerance ring. It can be seen that the wave shoulders make the main contribution to the stiffness. This is one of the reasons why rings with multiple bands of waves around the circumference are often used in high-torque applications, see Fig. 2(b) for examples. In tests using rigid steel gauges, a duplex ring with two sets of waves gives 1.7 times the torque of a single-banded ring of the same dimensions. The differing stress distribution within the wave is utilized to retain

(b)

(a) Example tolerance rings. (b) Example rings with modified wave design.

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TABLE 1. COEFFICIENTS OF FRICTION [3] Material Steel on Steel Steel on Cast Iron Static (Dry) 0.8 0.4 Static (Lubricated) 0.16 0.21

some spring performance in applications where the wave has been plastically deformed, such as torque overload protection. The rings are specifically designed for each application by varying the complex ring geometry, material thickness, hardness, etc., to create an appropriate spring constant and, hence, a predetermined torque above which the ring will slip (Fig. 4). Radial load (N) is given by FR = n c K where n is the number of waves, c is the compression of waves (mm), and K is the spring constant (N/mm). The axial assembly force (N) is given by: FA = FR where is the coefficient of friction, see Table 1 for typical figures. The torque (Nm) is given by T = FA d 2

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where d is the diameter (mm). Table 2 shows a selection of ring configurations with corresponding spring constants. It is important to note the wide range of spring constant and, hence, forces and torques that can be designed for a given ring size. Empirical research shows that the wave compression range for the elastic properties varies depending on the wave geometry. The typical range for elastic properties is from 3-7% of wave height compression, but for light
FR

FA FR

FA FR

FA FR

FA

FA FR

FR FA FA FR FA FA

FR

FA FA

3
FEA stress distribution on top wave surface.

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Frictional forces generating torque performance and assembly force.

duty rings, specifically designed for mounting bearings, the elastic limit can be as high as 50% with a usable range of 20-40%.
Principles of Operation in Bearing Mount Applications

Elastic and Plastic Zones Torque Fit Range

Radial Load (N)

This normally involves rings designed to achieve the minimum percentage of spring compression at which bearing compression can be guaranteed when at maximum clearance, leaving the remainder of the spring compression range available to handle any external radial loads, machining tolerances, or dimensional changes caused by differential thermal expansion of the mating components. In a typical electric motor bearing mount with Alumina housing, 608 bearing, H9 tolerance on the bore, and a temperature range of 20-100 C, an HVL22x7SS tolerance ring with a 0.33 mm wave height would be used, giving a radial clearance of 0.297-0.320 mm across the temperature and machining tolerance range (Fig. 5).
Principles of Operation in Slip-Clutch/Torque-Transfer Applications

Force/Torque

Bearing Fit Range

Assembly Force (N) Torque (Nm)

Wave Compression

Effect of thermal expansion on radial clearances.

In slip-clutch applications, the ring is designed such that the crests of the waves embed slightly into the mating component, and the base of the waves acts as a bearing surface and slips against the mating surface. Rings can be designed to slip either on the shaft or the bore, depending on the materials, surface finish, and hardness issues, etc. By utilizing the plastic range of Fig. 6, dimensional changes due to the tolerance variations of mating components will lead to minimal force (and, hence, slip torque) variation. The ring geometry is, however, designed such that sections will continue to operate in an elastic fashion

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Rc Max.

Vr Rc Min.

6
Force and torque versus wave compression.

TABLE 2. EXAMPLE CALCULATED SPRING CONSTANTS Diameter mm 10 10 10 25 25 25 50 50 50 Width mm 10 10 10 25 25 25 25 25 25 Pitch mm 3.5 2.5 2.5 3.5 2.5 3.5 3.5 2.5 3.5 8 12 12 22 31 22 44 62 44 No. Waves Wave Height mm 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Thickness mm 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.7 0.1 0.4 0.7 Spring Constant per Wave kN/mm 0.23 5.09 17.17 0.58 101.74 198.72 0.58 101.74 198.72 Spring Constant of Ring kN/mm 1.85 61.05 206.03 12.75 3,154.08 4,371.84 25.49 6,308.17 8,743.68 Calculated Radial Load @ 10% Wave Compression N 139 4579 15452 1275 315408 437184 2549 630817 874368 Calculated Torque @ 10 % Wave Compression Nm 0.10 3.43 11.59 2.39 591.39 819.72 9.56 2,365.56 3,278.88

Depending on minimum/maximum design compression of the waves. At high loads/torques results are significantly affected by the mechanical properties (such as the surface finish, strength and rigidity) of the mating components.

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Point Contact = High Range (R) = High T1

Point Contact

Reduced Point Contact = Flat Bearing Surface =Low Range (R) =Low T1

Reduced Point Contact

Standard wave profile. Modified wave profile.

even after the main body has undergone plastic deformation. This allows the ring to still accommodate the minor dimensional fluctuations during the overload slip and to transmit the drive torque once again after the overload condition is removed.

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maintaining the spring properties of the waves and allowing progressive deformation during assembly. Depending on mating components, materials, and required torque transmission, slip torques up to hundreds of Developments in Torque-Slip Designs newton meters can be accommodated. Slip-torque accuracy Modifications to root radii and the wave base or plannish of 10% and the number of slips over 10,000 have been area, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, have improved the bearing successfully developed (Table 3). surface, removing the point contact of Fig. 10 shows the performance of a the previous designs that led to degradastainless-steel conventional ring with tion of the mating components. mild steel-mating components using TOLERANCE The flatter plannish area between as-machined surface finish and Shell the waves also improves distribution Albida grease. Were this assembly to be RINGS ARE USED of loads around the shaft (or bore). Fig. used in a production application, a 9 shows this improved force distribuprebreak slip cycle could be used during AS SIMPLE, tion; pressure sensitive film was assembly to bed-in the tolerance ring placed between the base of the rings and remove the higher first torque from LOW-COST, and the mating component. This is the the curve during operation in-situ, if surface that is designed to slip, and the the design required it. NONDESTRUCTIVE more uniform load distribution is The mating components, torque OVERLOAD clearly visible. levels, and heat generation during the The new design overcomes the slip condition limit maximum slip-cyPROTECTION stick-slip effects that previously required cle frequency and duration. Tolerance the system to undergo several overload rings are suitable where the slip duraDEVICES. slips before bedding-in and achieving the tion is of the order of a few seconds, and nominal torque specification. the surface slip speed is less than 1.5 Investigation of the wave riser angle ms. This is primarily due to the frichas shown that optimum conditions allow the maximum tional heat generated, which will tend to cause annealing number of waves around the ring circumference while of the rings if excessive. The modified wave ring design reduces initial slip to a subsequent slip differential by 50% and reduced range over first five cycles by 60%. The specification for automotive antitheft slip cycles is +90, 180, and +90 over five cycles (Figs. 11 and 12).
Lubrication

9
Pressure-sensitive film showing load distribution of conventional ring (upper) and modified wave design (lower).

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The choice of lubricant is important in overall system performance, as with any bearing. Determining factors include intended operating temperature, mating materials, cleanliness, and other environmental issues. In typical high load/torque applications with steel mating components operating between 40 C and 150 C, high-pressure, high-temperature lubricants, such as Shell Albida grease, are used. Proprietary solid lubricants, using resin-based molybdenum or silicon, have been successfully used in applications where grease application was deemed undesirable or where avoidance of the costs associated with grease application on automated assembly machinery was required.

TABLE 3. EXAMPLE SLIP TORQUE APPLICATIONS Application Steering column anti-theft lock (standard ring) Steering column anti-theft lock (modified wave ring) Hedge Trimmer motor drive gear overload protection EPAS EPAS EPAS EPAS Drive gear overload protection Seat height adjustment mechanism Seat height adjustment mechanism EPAS Windscreen wiper motor overload Specification 150 Nm 50 Nm 150 Nm 20 Nm 70 Nm 20 Nm 100 Nm 20 Nm 70 Nm 10 Nm 150 Nm 20 Nm 3 Nm 2 Nm 12 Nm 2 Nm 17 Nm 3 Nm 0.55 Nm 0.15 Nm 3 Nm 1 Nm 1 Nm 10 Nm #Cycles 5 reversing 5 reversing 30 1,000 10,000 1,000 1,000 5 1,000 60,000 1,000 200,000 Ring Size (mm) SV20 30 CS typ. SV20 30 CS typ. HV40 10 SS SV25 9 SV24 10 SV26 9 SV36 12 SV14 3 SV36 5 SV10 5 SV21 9.9 HV10 5

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Torque Nm

In fact, some of these solid lubricants, developed specifically for this application, have produced slip-torque results on traditional design rings comparable with the new modified wave profile design. This allows for the possibility of performance enhancement of an existing tolerance ring design without retooling the manufacturing process (Figs. 13 and 14).
Black & Decker Hedge Trimmer Overload Protection

Extended Slip Performance 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 200 400 600 Slip Cycle 800 1,000

Black & Decker (B&D) wanted to develop a standard design to cover sales in both Europe and the United States. The different markets had different aspirations with regard to product life and robustness. By using a tolerance ring to protect the sintered metal motor drive gears, B&D was able to design a cost-efficient product that is able to withstand the shock loads of abnormal motor stalls, such as when the cutting blades hit a metal fence wire or a branch. The ring (4010 mm) was designed to slip the first time between 80-90 Nm and then between 50-70 Nm over 30 shock-stalls of the trimmer mechanism. For a ring 40 mm in diameter and 10 mm in width, we select a pitch of 5 mm and an initial wave height of 1 mm. This gives us 25 complete waves around the circumference of the ring. We then select the material thickness to produce the required torque performance. From the calculations, the spring constant for the ring is given by t K 48 E w . . p
3

10

Torque performance over 1,000 cycles.

Slip Torques with Standard Ring 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 T1 T2 T3 T4 Rotation Number T5

Torque (Nm)

11

Standard waveform results.

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Slip Torques with Modified Wave Ring 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 T1 T2 T3 T4 Rotation Number T5

So we have K for 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mm thick stainless steel . 03 48 1875 10 = 1944 . . . 5 0.4 . 48 1875 10 = 4608 . . 5 . 05 48 1875 10 = 9000. . . . 5
12
3 3 3

Torque (Nm)

Modified waveform.
Slip Torques with Shell Albida Lubricant

From work with similar rings, 15% compression would be expected to be the start of the plastic zone of Fig. 6, so we next calculate the radial load using FR = n c K . So, for our three material thicknesses, we have: 25 1 15% 1944 = 729 . . 25 1 15% 4608 = 1728 . . 25 1 15% 9.000 = 3375. . This will give a predicted torque performance from

250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Rotation Number T8 T9 T10

Torque (Nm)

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d T = FR . 2 Using a coefficient of friction of 0.16, and for our three material thicknesses of 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mm, we get 40 = 233 . 2 40 = 553 . . . 1728 016 2 40 . . 3375 016 = 1080. . 2 . . 729 016

Standard wave, standard lubrication.

Slip Torques with RENC03 Lubricant

250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 Rotation Number T8 T9 T10

Torque (Nm)

14

Standard wave, dry-grease lubrication.

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Slip Torques Black & Decker

So we will select the 0.4 mm material. Because we are using the plastic region of the graph in Fig. 6, as long as we maintain the compression at a minimum of 15%, any increase in compression will only cause a very small rise in torque. In the final design, component dimensions and tolerances were chosen to give a 16% compression of the waves.

Torque (Nm)

75

50

25

T1

T3

T5

T8 T10 T12 T14 T16 T18 T20 Rotation Number 15

16
Section of B&D drive gear assembly.

80

B&D actual results, 0.4 mm material.

We see, from Fig. 15, that the actual torque results show the first slip cycle at 90 Nm is higher than for subsequent slips at 60 Nm. This is due to the surface polishing and lubricant distribution that occurs during the first slips. The correlation between the theoretical torque and the actual results were excellent for this application. Due to the reasons outlined earlier, however, it is essential that design verification work is undertaken with production-intent components to establish the effects of actual materials and surface finishes, etc. Careful design of the two-piece gear incorporating the tolerance ring enabled a locating groove for the tolerance ring to be accommodated with a simple operation. This allows high radial loads to be accommodated without overcompressing the ring by transmitting forces through the groove shoulders once the wave has been compressed to a certain point (Figs. 16 and 17).
Automotive Steering Column Antitheft Protection

Millions of tolerance rings have been fitted to vehicles over the last 17 years to protect the steering column lock mechanism from damage during attempted theft [1]. The U.K. Home Office [the U.K. equivalent to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which tracks vehicle thefts] rated all those vehicles fitted with tolerance rings as low risk in terms of thefts per 100 vehicles [2]. The tolerance ring is fitted between the steering column shaft and a locking collar into which the lock mechanism engages (Figs. 18 and 19). During an attempted theft, the ring allows the lock collar to rotate on the shaft and protects the locking pin from being sheared off. The particular design challenges in these applications revolve around the use of lower grade steels and wide manufacturing tolerances for the mating components, while maintaining torque performance in line with legislation. The legislation calls for a minimum torque of 100 Nm after five slip cycles, and a typical maximum torque of 220 Nm is chosen to protect the steering column itself, together with its associated mounting components. The modified wave ring design allows the relaxing of mating-component tolerances further and can obviate the requirement for a prebreak, an initial torque slip cycle performed during the assembly process, thus reducing manufacturing times and simplifying production equipment.

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B&D gear assembly.

The requirements for higher torques are achieved in these applications by using hardened steel rings, typically of thicker material (0.5-0.7 mm) and utilizing dual bands of waves around the ring to increase the achievable torque within a given space. The hardening process does not affect the spring constant itself, but produces a higher slip torque by shifting the elastic-plastic transition of Fig. 6 with higher hardness, allowing higher compression (and, hence, slip torque) before plastic deformation occurs, and the torque is stabilized.

18
Steering column lock assembly. EPAS gear assembly.

19

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Automotive Electric Power-Assisted Steering Gear Protection

With the continual drive to improve vehicle efficiency and reduce weight, automotive designers are replacing traditional hydraulic power-steering systems with electrically powered units. These systems only consume power when turning the wheels and do not represent a drain in the idle state. Electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) drive trains typically use sintered metal technology for gears. These components, while offering significant benefits in terms of cost, are prone to damage from shock loading when, for example, the wheel hits a curb during parking maneuvers. To protect the gears, a tolerance ring is used between the gear and shaft, designed to slip during a shock load.
Summary

The developments outlined in this article have extended their application to protecting mechanical systems, typically electric-motor drive trains, from potential damage during shock overload conditions.
References
[1] The application of tolerance rings in anti-theft steering column assemblies, SAE International, Paper 940868, 1994. [2] Car theft in England and Wales: The Home Office car theft index, Home Office Police Dept., Paper 33, 1990. [3] D. Tabor and F.P. Bowden, The Friction and Lubrication of Solids, vol. 1. London, UK: Clarendon Press, 1950.

Tolerance rings have been used for many years for fixing components and mounting bearings in the automotive and appliance industries.

J.W. Smith (jim.smith@rencol.co.uk) is with Rencol Tolerance Rings in Bristol, England. This article first appeared in its original format at the 2001 51st Annual International Appliance Technical Conference.

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