Constant velocity universal ball joint and method of producing such a

Abstract

A constant velocity universal ball joint has a bell-shaped outer joint part which is open at one end. The outer joint part includes longitudinally extending circumferentially distributed outer ball tracks. An inner joint part with longitudinally extending circumferentially distributed inner ball tracks is positioned within the outer part such that the outer and inner tracks are arranged radially opposite one another to form pairs. A torque transmitting ball is received in each track pair. A cage is arranged between the outer joint part and the inner joint part and holds the balls in a common plane in circumferentially distributed cage windows. The cage guides the balls on to the angle bisecting plane when the axes of the outer and inner joint part are articulated relative to one another. The outer joint part is produced, especially by extrusion, forging or deep-drawing. The forming provides outer ball tracks which, if viewed from the open end, are axially undercut-free. Inner faces are positioned between the outer ball tracks. The outer part includes wall regions which start from the open end, are axially limited, are deformed radially inwardly, and are arranged between two outer ball tracks. The wall regions, whose width is smaller than the circumferentially directed distance between the respective outer ball tracks, are deformed. The deformed wall regions each form cage guiding faces positioned between the outer ball tracks and provide support towards the open end.