Hitachi Automotive Systems Kyushu, Ltd.

Kazuya Matsumoto

Keigo Yoshida

An aluminum alloy propeller shaft including a tube made of an aluminum alloy, and a pair of yoke members made of an aluminum alloy, the yoke members including cylindrical base portions friction-welded to opposite end portions of the tube, each of the yoke members including a tip end portion having a pair of bearing retaining holes aligned with each other in a radial direction of the base portion. Variation in length between a central axis of the bearing retaining holes in one of the yoke members and a central axis of the bearing retaining holes in the other yoke member with respect to a reference length is set within a range of from +2.0 mm to &#x2212;2.0 mm. A friction welding process of producing an aluminum alloy propeller shaft, including a friction step, a position displacement detection step, a rotation stop step and an upset step.

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Buzen, Japan

Kazuya Matsumoto