American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.

Metaldyne Gmbh

Cory J Padfield

Moshe Rothstein

Toby V Padfield

Douglas J Chemelli

Robert C Gorski

Jeffrey J Ronning

Chih-Hung Chung

Anoop Vasu

Charles V Rupert, Ii

Hosam Z Abdu

Adam Turner

Carl A Koerschner

Nathan Fredrick Broker

Rita Arnold

Samer Metry

Paul Noble

An electric drive unit that includes an electric motor having motor output shaft and a heat sink that is received therein. The heat sink is comprises of a plurality of discrete heat sink elements that are stacked together and inserted into the motor output shaft. The heat sink elements have central hubs that cooperate to form a coolant supply passage that extends centrally through the heat sink. Each of the heat sink elements defines a plurality of discrete coolant return passages that are relatively shorter in length than the central hubs so that a void annular space is formed between the coolant return passages of adjacent heat sink elements.

Electric drive unit with rotor heat sink formed of heat sink elements

A differential assembly is disclosed herein. The differential assembly includes a case, a weld ring and a ring gear. The ring gear and case may comprise dissimilar materials. The case may be overmolded onto the weld ring. The weld ring may be welded to the ring gear such that the ring gear is attached to the case.

Differential overmolded weldable ring

A vehicle driveline component with a housing, a tube and a plurality of slugs. The housing has a tube mount with a body and a plurality of slug bores. The body defines a tube bore that extends along an axis. The slug bores are spaced circumferentially apart about and are formed through the body. Each of the slug bores intersects the tube bore. The tube is received in the tube bore. Each of the slugs is received into an associated one of the slug bores and is welded to the tube. Each of the slugs engages an inside surface of one of the slug bores to inhibit movement of the tube relative to the tube mount. The body has a wall thickness and each of the slugs engages the inside surface of one of the slug bores over a distance that is less than the wall thickness.

Vehicle driveline component having housing assembly with slugs for inhibiting relative movement between a housing member and a tube

A method for forming an assembly having a housing and first and second components. The first and second components are movable relative to one another in the housing. The method includes: providing first and second workpieces; moving the first and second workpieces relative to one another in a predetermined manner that produces relative sliding contact between the first and second workpieces while performing a superfinishing operation on the first and second workpieces to form the first and second components, respectively, wherein the superfinishing operation does not comprise a lapping operation; and mounting the first and second components in the housing such that the first and second components are engaged to one another and are movable relative to one another in the predetermined manner.

Method for forming an assembly having mating superfinished components

A vehicle driveline component with a differential case, a cross-pin, a differential gearset, and a retaining member. The differential case is rotatable about a first axis and has an annular wall member that defines a differential cavity. The cross-pin is received in a cross-pin aperture formed through a first side of the annular wall member. The cross-pin extends through the differential cavity along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis. The differential gearset is received in the differential cavity and includes a pair of side gears, which are rotatable about the first axis, and a pair of pinion gears that are journally supported by the cross-pin and meshingly engaged with the side gears. The retaining member is welded to the annular wall member and limits movement of the cross-pin relative to the differential case along the second axis in a direction toward the retaining member.

Driveline component having differential assembly with retaining member welded to differential case to retain cross-pin

A method for forming welded assembly. The method includes: providing a gear workpiece; forming a joining section on the gear workpiece that defines a weld interface; applying a material to the outside surface of the gear workpiece including the joining section; cutting a plurality of teeth in the material-covered gear workpiece, each of the plurality of teeth having first and second flanks and a root, wherein the material does not reside on any one of the first flanks, the second flanks and the roots; heat treating the gear workpiece to harden the teeth; and finishing the heat-treated gear workpiece in a finishing process to form a finished ring gear, the finishing process comprising at least one of a turning operation and a lapping operation; wherein the material is disposed over the weld interface on the finished ring gear. A welded assembly is also provided.

Method for forming a welded assembly and related welded assembly

A method for fabricating an article that includes: providing a first workpiece component formed of a first steel material; joining a second workpiece component to the first workpiece component to form a workpiece, the second workpiece component being formed of a second steel material that is different from the first steel material; and forming a plurality of teeth on the workpiece, the teeth being wholly formed of the first steel material.

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Royal Oak, MI, United States of America

Cory J Padfield