The team of the Mechanical Engineering Research Institute jointly with Automobile Plant URAL are working on the import substitution of transfer boxes with various torque range. SUSU develops 3D models and description of the parameters of transfer box prototypes manufactured by German and Chinese companies. This project is being implemented within the frameworks of the Ural Interregional Research and Education Centre for Advanced Industrial Technologies and Materials (UIREC) with the support from the Chelyabinsk Region Government.
Transfer box is one of the key elements in a vehicle, a car cannot start the motion without it. The work of the specialists from the SUSU Computer Engineering Centre, SUSU Institute of Engineering and Technology and SUSU Branch in the City of Miass is aimed at creating the technological sovereignty of our country.
“A transfer box is an irreplaceable mechanism in a vehicle’s transmission gearbox. Automobile Plant URAL launched a research study of three types of transfer boxes, which differ in the manufacturer and the torque characteristics (1200 Nm/1800 Nm/2500 Nm). We’re not inventing a transfer box, but are rather re-engineering its prototypes. Our specialists have disassembled a transfer box into parts, scanned each part and measured its size. The metallographic examination of the main units of the transfer box was performed: the metal composition and structure were determined. The knowledge of the metal’s composition helps select Russian analogues to the steel grades, and the information about the structure allows to determine the heat treatment conditions for the production process,” shares Director of the Mechanical Engineering Research Institute Ramil Zakirov.
The elements of a transfer box are measured using two methods: manually, and using a coordinate measurement machine and a portable scanner. With the help of the coordinate measurement machine specialists obtain the coordinates of the location of the elements of parts in space relative of each other. This machine allows for precision measurement: from 2 micron. Such measurements are taken for further creation of a 3D model. The portable scanner measures the parameters of parts with complex geometry, it amends the results obtained from the coordinate measurement machine.
“We stick photoreflective marks to a part and the program uses them as guides to build the dimensions outline of a product. The scanner’s optical system reads the marks, and the laser system reads data from the object of scanning. The object is scanned from all sides, and next the scans are aligned using the reference points. The scanning result is a full-fledged image of the part, but not yet a 3D model,” explains Artem Fedorov, a process engineer at the mechanical engineering laboratory.
To obtain a primary 3D model of a part, scans are refined using SolidWorks and Geomagic Design X software. Currently, the scientists are focused on developing the design documentation, using which Automobile Plant URAL will be able to manufacture transfer boxes. At present, Automobile Plant URAL is engaged in the production of vehicle components within the import substitution program.
South Ural State University is a university of transformations, where innovative research is conducted in most of the priority fields of science and technology development. In accordance with the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, the university is focused on the development of big scientific interdisciplinary projects in the field of digital industry, materials science, and ecology. In 2021 SUSU became the winner in the competition under the Priority 2030 program. The university acts as a regional project office of the World-class Ural Interregional Research and Education Centre (UIREC), which is aimed at solving the tasks of the Science and Universities National Project.