VEHICLE SHAFT AND METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR ITS MANUFACTURE Russian patent published in 2006 - IPC B60B35/16 B23K26/20 

FIELD: transport engineering.

SUBSTANCE: proposed vehicle shaft has rigid intermediate section with shaft journal welded to each end of shaft. Shaft journal and/or intermediate section have reduced thickness of material at a distance from contact surfaces which is equal to less than half of thickness of material in contact surface to direct flow of force through welded joint. In process of manufacture of such shafts of vehicles, adjoining contact surface are welded by laser to form welded joint which can completely penetrate through material of shaft journals and intermediate section, respectively, owing to which concentricity and parallelism of these two journals after welding and cooling of material will be within preset dimension allowances. Device for welding of shaft has induction heater which encloses shaft journal and can freely travel in axial direction for freeing journals of shaft welded to shaft section after heating.

EFFECT: increased strength of welded joint of shaft.

8 cl, 4 dwg