The Ingenious Mechanics of Driveshafts

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The evolution of automotive drivelines began centuries ago with horse-drawn implements, such as the Watkins and Bryson mowing machine, which introduced the first modern conceptualization of a driveshaft in 1861. Early automobiles primarily used chain drives, but by the turn of the century, gear-driven systems became more prevalent. The 1901 Autocar, designed by Louis S. Clarke, was considered the first shaft-driven automobile in the U.S., featuring a rear-end layout with a sliding-gear transmission, torque tube, and bevel gear assembly with an integrated differential. Autocar used a "pot type" universal joint, which was later superseded by the more robust Cardan universal joint, first used in the 1902 Spyker 60 HP race car.
Cardan universal joints, named after the Italian mathematician Gerolamo Cardano, consisted of two yokes connected by a cross-shaped intermediate journal, allowing power transmission between shafts at an angle. These joints used bronze bushings and later needle roller bearings to reduce friction and increase durability. Slip yokes were incorporated into the driveline assembly to accommodate axial movement. However, Cardan joints had limitations, such as non-uniform rotational speeds and increased friction at higher angles.
Throughout the 1920s, several design variations were developed to address these limitations. Ball and trunnion universal joints, like those used in the 1928 Chrysler DeSoto, allowed for greater angle misalignment and integrated slip characteristics. Double Cardan shafts, which used two universal joints connected by an intermediate propeller shaft, became a popular choice for rear-wheel drive vehicles due to their design flexibility, manufacturability, and torque capacity.
Constant velocity (CV) joints were introduced in the late 1920s to address the limitations of Cardan joints in front-wheel drive vehicles. The Tracta joint, invented by Jean-Albert Grégoire, was one of the first CV joints used in production vehicles. However, the most practical and popular design was the Rzeppa joint, invented by Ford engineer Alfred H. Rzeppa in 1926. Rzeppa joints used ball bearings to provide smooth power transfer at high angles. Tripod joints, developed in the 1960s, were commonly used on the inboard side of front-wheel drive half-shafts due to their affordability and ability to accommodate axial movement.
During the 1960s, manufacturers began experimenting with CV joints on propeller shafts for rear-wheel drive cars to achieve smoother power transfer. Double Cardan joints, which placed two Cardan joints back-to-back in a single unit, were also developed for use in high-articulation, high-torque applications.
Until the 1980s, drive shafts were primarily made from steel alloys. In 1985, the first composite drive shafts were introduced by Spicer U-Joint Division of Dana Corporation and GM. Composite drive shafts, made from carbon fiber or glass fiber in a polymer matrix, offered significant weight savings, high strength-to-weight ratios, and inherent damping properties.
As the automotive industry looks towards a future with alternative power sources, driveline components and universal joints remain crucial elements. Despite attempts to eliminate drivelines using hub electric motors, the traditional drivetrain layout is likely to remain dominant in the near future.
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[@leonmusk1040]

You forgot to add that they are now so numerous you're 4 times more likely to be killed by exploding universals than getting hit by lightening.

[@clintonhalunajan467]

How about vid about vehicular drivetrain configurations (AWD,4WD) or hybrid drivetrains, the diversity of differentials or eVolution of advance vehicle dynamic safety devices like abs tcs brake vectoring etc.

[@iteerrex8166]

Our modern world is standing on the shoulders of countless number of giants and lifetimes of experience. Another great video NM 👍

[@robinnautica9773]

They say great science is built on the shoulders of giants. Not here. At Aperture, we do all our science from scratch. No hand holding.

[@Yezpahr]

Our modern world is also standing on the verge of magdumping the nuclear arsenal. There are no big enough shoulders of big enough giants to stand on after that. Let's hope it fizzles out somehow. Then everything we learned along the way will stil matter. Otherwise it won't.

[@pvic6959]

its giants all the way down~

[@Yezpahr]

I stand by my previously deleted comment about mankind being on the verge of doing something "silly" and it doesn't matter on which shoulders we stand after that thing happened. But the video was indeed enjoyable.

[@pvic6959]

@@Yezpahr what comment? and what silly thing?

[@MrZenzio]

Me, every 90 seconds: "Oh, that's smarter".

[@masterimbecile]

You’re getting smarter every day Oops wrong channel

[@ShivanshParihar_0]

Fo real😂😂😂

[@drewendly89]

💀 i just saw the Zeppa joint and went THATS SMARTTTT…

[@butlerbees6639]

Every time I watch videos like this I can’t help to be completely humbled. So many nameless faces less men throughout history that worked individually or with a team to make so many modern conveniences possible. I’m just an average guy trying to do his best. I can’t imagine sitting down and inventing something like this, let alone constantly improve upon it. The amount of brainpower, work ethic, and trials these guys went through is nothing short of amazing.

[@JohnDoeWasntTaken]

Our history being this way is the reason why I can never believe it when someone says "times were better back then". We are standing on the shoulders of these inventors and engineers, countless conveniences that we take for granted only coming about thanks to them.

[@LynxStarAuto]

It was these great folks' passion projects that helped take America to new heights. Now we just got a bunch of nincompoops chasing a paycheck, doing whatever their corporate overlords demand of them.

[@mejestic124]

Oh you will, necessity is the mother of invention. imagine you as a farmer or some mechanic in the older times, you would definitely make something that could help you daily life bussiness

[@StepSherpa]

​@mejestic124 that sounds great but for something to be known it has to be spread, especially before the internet. And maybe you invent something but think it is not such a big deal. Most things these days are that someone figured something out AND managed to spread the idea, my favorite example is the boxer and berdan primer used in cartridge cases and where they were used

[@TheMasonX23]

I would assume they had names and faces. I think it's hard to get hired without either of those.

[@andersjjensen]

How come "a random dude", with only 600k subscribers, has higher production quality and absurdly higher factual correctness than major TV networks?

[@ZhulMechanos]

It’s by design. Mass Media = Mass Disinformation

[@rjones6219]

As this video shows. There is rarely a perfect solution to engineering challenges, and that in most scenarios, a compromise is required.

[@alveolate]

the video almost touches on that perfect solution tho... eliminating driveshafts completely and mating the engines directly to the wheels, which is now feasible with compact electric motors. but ofc, that's not the point of the video xD

[@incofriganel]

​@alveolate but that does lead to the problem of greater unsprung weight. Leading to handling issues

[@KingofKatenfutter]

Amazing video! You could literally show this in a engineering class. I love the no-nonsense, pure info approach!

[@PhoenIXrcrr]

This is miles better than anything I had "pleasure" to see at tech uni classes.

[@ericyyoutube]

Growing up, I saw many CV joints as my dad's business sold auto parts. I have many fond memories of assembling boot kits (they replace the old boot, and have a rubber boot, packet of grease, and 2 circlips, one small one big) as a kid, but I must confess that I never understood nor truly appreciated the technical engineering behind such auto parts. It was refreshing to finally learn about the history of CV joints and U-joints, and see them in 3D action. Thank you.

[@NewMind]

Balls and shafts jokes go here. Best one by April 1st gets $100 🤣

[@alittlelad]

go to 11:19 and close your eyes

[@Outlawstar0198]

"ball and shafts jokes go here" Joke is already written. Just needed to add *points to crotch* to it

[@MarekReinsch]

My wife confirms that the dirt contamination of the shaft is the worst case. She also says it starts with the balls.

[@Karagoth444]

Bendix Weiss joint must have been inspired from a good night of 2 shafts and 4 balls.

[@andyvoltin9321]

@6:20 it's a long one, but I think worth it, ending @6:55

[@SlipYoke6081x]

I fabricate and custom build driveshafts for all kinds of stuff, big rigs, 4x4s, cruisers, drag racers and even tractor and agriculteral ptos, and I sure enjoy it. Its like legos, pieces might be different in some ways but they all go together the same. I also replace center bearings, straighten and balance them

[@LynxStarAuto]

Perfect sn then.

[@TheAefril]

I bow to artists like you. You stand on the shoulders of giants, and the many generations of engineers before you!

[@SlipYoke6081x]

@@TheAefril yeah, I owe it all to the people who taught me and helped me out

[@waynejohnstone3685]

Pretty cool!

[@circusitch]

I’m awed at the superb graphics. I’m glad I taught him everything he knows.

[@GearHeadedHamster]

The exploded views do an excellent job at conveying the complex 3d shape and assembly of these joints in a simple, easy to understand way. With that said, I did noticed 2 animation errors. The first one at 9:55 The right hemisphere doesn't pivot properly causing it to clip into the yoke of the right shaft. The second error is at 11:35 If I'm not mistaken, when the shaft pivots, the ball cage should also pivot at half the angler displacement. essentially splitting the difference between the two angles. Where as here, it is locked to the inner race.

[@mugilanjoorindanjn7500]

I'm awed at the superb comment. I'm glad I taught him everything he knows.

[@PhoenIXrcrr]

​@@GearHeadedHamster you are right on both animations. They are so awesome that my perfectionist side really wants them to be 100% correct :D

[@ck17350]

The beautiful digital animations created on this channel never cease to amaze me. Whoever is behind them, your work is really impressive.

[@hootinouts]

The RZEPPA joint is by far brilliant. I remember many years ago replacing the split rubber boot that covered this joint on my Honda and had to remove the shaft and disassemble the joint. I was astounded by the high precision and high surface finish on the internal workings of that joint. it was trick getting it apart and reassembling it too.

[@SimEon-jt3sr]

Wow that old timer video of the car going down that bank was crazy the whole car pivoted/twisted. Between front and rear axle. That was crazy

[@marvinochieng6295]

damn... this is one of those channels i never miss to watch every upload. Keep up the good effort

[@dan_youtube]

Who doesn't love this? Amazing visuals and crisp voice narration. Plus everyone drives a car or has been in one!

[@JorgeWolfarth]

I designed CVJ for 6 years based in my experience I can say your explanation was perfect

[@nidalshehahadeh7485]

Mercedes Benz drive shaft coupling which is basically a rubber coupling is one of the most efficient quiet ways of transporting power without vibration with extreme durability that can be up to the lifetime of the vehicle.

[@mickmccasker6401]

That's because the lifetime of a Benz is so low...

[@nidalshehahadeh7485]

@@mickmccasker6401 There was a time in history in which Mercedes-Benz used to give a brand new vehicle to any individual who drives his old Mercedes-Benz 1 million kilometers, I worked on Mercedes-Benz since I was 13 years old and I could tell you out of my experience that the amount of times that I had to replace a drive shaft couplings can be counted on the hands, many car manufacturers have adopted this invention including Toyota and BMWs. Rubber Couplings are used extensively in many industrial applications, especially with engines. Mainly used for their torsionally soft properties and damping effect on troublesome vibrations.

[@volvo09]

For applications with a slight angle those rubber couplings do last quite a long time. They also have the benefit of isolating more vibrations.

[@otm646]

That's a Guibo joint, designed by an Italian, the Germans use. It has very limited misalignment capabilities and is severely torque limited for their volume. Like everything shown here it's a good design in certain applications like independent rear suspension where the differential doesn't move.

[@poindextertunes]

@@mickmccasker6401this isn’t true tho depending on what year you get. And you can say that for almost any car company. the manufacturing and quality control of so many cars has gone down hill in the last 10-15 years. You can blame the CEOs for that. They do anything to keep the shareholder’s happy and increase their profits 3% year over year. And of course their bonus has to be bigger and better than their golf buddies bonus

[@wrenbrighton2358]

Such fascinating geometry here. Pretty cool how the intersection of math and engineering has created everythkng we know.

[@peterwilson7532]

Amazing graphics and a refined pace of learning from a tight script. Fab.

[@TheWizardGamez]

you had me at ballcage

[@ahmedp8009]

Man, Thank you! Driveshafts, they always fascinating me considering the unimaginable stresses and torture they endure and experience throughout their life, truly marvels of Engineering! This video on the history and advancements is simply extraordinary! Extremely informative and fantastically paced and explained. I appreciate all your effort, skills and hard work poured in creating such premium videos for us to watch, and wish you all the Best!

[@Ben-Dixey]

Fantastic video. This subject is particularly apt for me at the moment. I'm trying to design a driveshaft for my homemade helicopter. Tried tripod cv joints and it worked but I'm running them at engine RPM, the rubber boots can't take that rpm so I'm going to a universal joint. The driveshaft needs to plunge 100mm under very low friction so another joint needs to be found. Splined slip joints have too much friction so it has to be a ball bearing joint. You can get ball bearing slip joints called ball splines, used on some Volvos. This is a possible solution, I've also come up with another lighter solution using two telescopic boxes sections separated by flat cage needle roller bearings but this hasn't been tested. I'll watch your video again as it's great for ideas on how to solve my problem in the lightest way. Thanks again Ben

[@htimsid]

From 1960, Pontiac used a 'ropeshaft' on the Tempest. Instead of a driveshaft the front-mounted engine and rear-mounted transaxle were connected by a 5/8inch-diameter flexible steel shaft which operated in an arc below the cabin floor. This shaft was enclosed in a torque tube.

[@hughoxford8735]

Universal joints were the favourite parts of my technic Lego kits.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Brilliant video, thank you for making this!

[@discoverymoi]

Man my fav videos of this channel so far. The drive shaft is sort special for me, I remember I was quite young when I first got the opportunity to see a drive shaft from up close and got to understand how it works, I simply love its function of transmitting the motion and how crucial it is for vehicles specially for 4x4s which are my fav segment, ever since whenever I see any 4x4 or a semi truck I’m always peeking at the drive shaft and countless times I’ve spotted 4x4 trucks without the front drive shaft, thanks for sharing the entire amazing story behind this piece and all its types, the animation is top notch btw.

[@tslaton]

please, never stop producing this content. It has helped me understand things in my profession, this is some of the best educational content I have found on KZbin. I appreciate the effort that you put into making these videos.

[@JKTCGMV13]

I had no idea there was such history here. Thanks for the info and the great graphics!

[@lyzek01]

It amazes me that technology from the 1920s is still being used today. Thanks for this great video!!

[@keanMechanic]

That is the most informative and complete information on “CV “ joints. Very well done sir.

[@itsdaninn]

Impressed by the amount of efforts gone into making this video. Great job!

[@JoshuaC923]

Super high quality documentaries, one can only imagine how many hours is put into these videos. Thank you!

[@Afuru1]

These are 100yr old inventions mostly. They never stopped trying to solve problems.

[@silvervortex2441]

Another banger. I love automotive related stuff

[@stephenbone4764]

FANTASTIC VID ! GREAT GRAPHICS ! LOVE THE EXPLANATION OF [ C V ] JOINTS ! ! !

[@AndriusKamarauskas]

i would like to nominate this video as an amazing

[@dzfz2100]

INCREDIBLE ANIMATIONS as per usual!

[@onlyme0349]

this is a really great format, allowing us to see the pros and cons and the evolution of these driveshafts over time, the improvements are also intrinsically rewarding to capture an audience that may not have entirely "got it", drivetrains are definitely interesting technology

[@snakezdewiggle6084]

That was like "Next Level". Good job 👍 Thank you.

[@AbdiPianoChannel]

Thanks for the knowledge

[@Finite-Tuning]

And here I was thinking that I knew all about drive shafts and their joints, nope, I was wrong! You showed me a couple of things here I didn't know existed. Excellent video man! Cheers 🍻

[@kirkhamandy]

I heard the word "trunnion," and suddenly, the Turbo Encabulator jumped into my head. After that, it didn't matter what you said; despite being entirely factual, I couldn't stop hearing that skit and laughing. Sorry, great video, but one word just set me off 😂

[@luigicirelli2583]

rubber coupling missing; great documentary

[@bovanshi6564]

Really high quality video!

[@tylersakir7119]

I love videos about shafts and balls. Great video

[@noodle3768]

The mechanic engineers are so smart.

[@burgundy4583]

Thank you so much

[@Colorworks99]

Just found your channel. Love the content!! 👍

[@ralfbauerfeind8236]

I am missing a bit the mentioning of VL and DO joints, but this was extensive enough to get a good impression of how those joints work in general.

[@EyesOfByes]

This whole channel is Brilliant

[@brianbanks3044]

some very smart people back in the day when the manufacturing processes were far less than what we have today

[@douglasbullet6456]

These type of videos make me wanna build my own car

[@doodskie999]

Just discovered this channel, damn the animations are so good and direct to the point! Subbed!

[@aga080]

driveshaft: what a special episode. thank you as always.

[@leoarc1061]

I am designing an experimental aircraft and due to the distance between engine and propeller a driveshaft is needed. The problem is not as simple as it first appears, as demonstrated by this video. There's a lot to consider, especially when weight is of concern. Wonderful video.

[@iainduncan1998]

Got to love the prop shaft on the gearpumps of extruders

[@M_Gargantua]

Using a student FSAE car for the CV Joint example, love when I see stuff like that in the wider world.

[@paulbriggs3072]

One heck of a video.

[@awkwardsaxon9418]

man I love when I find channels like this that are not ai voice and ai script

[@xoDaniell3]

amazing video as always

[@jameshartman6031]

Ur videos just make my brain feel better...

[@markproulx1472]

Great video!

[@Pickelhaube808]

Challenge: Take a shot every time the words "balls" or "shaft" are said

[@harlanbarnhart4656]

The double cardin shafts shown at 7:00 and 8:20 are not the same. I suspect the later is correct with the intermediate shaft hosting yokes at 90° angles.

[@samd7601]

I read that as Indeginous Mechanics, awesome!

[@tpkj658]

Great pronounciation of the name "Rzeppa"! :)

[@Azdingue]

Your videos are awesome and amazing ❤❤❤

[@onazram1]

Excellent driveshaft video, but no mention of the common Flex Disc....

[@jamestregler1584]

Thanks now I know who Mr. Cardan is !

[@Vrga]

Learned so much about balls and ball cages from this video! ❤

[@pauls5745]

I think the Tracta joint is elegant and the most durable thing ever. No wonder they had to get rid of it. All it ever needed was just grease it.

[@_olamilekan]

I love this channel ❤❤❤❤

[@asianmanfromasia]

I just replaced my CV axles, and you came out with this. You read my mind 🧠

[@raylopez99]

Fun fact: as acknowledged (implicitly) by the author in the first two minutes of this video, chain drives actually have a higher mechanical efficiency than drive shafts, which have higher losses such as due to friction. But, as the author said, drive shafts are more robust and less prone to breakdown. A design tradeoff.

[@pklimbic]

Wonderful video, thank you. A lot of cars use Hardy-disks. What is their function?

[@mrtopcat2]

Great video, I just wished it had a bit more depth. If it matters, this is the first video that I saw from this channel as it just showed up on my feed.

[@albertorobinson7611]

cheers

[@diogoduarte4097]

In the world of driveshafts, everything cones down to a double cardan, but with ball bearings in different places.

[@KNfLrPn]

@10:00 Forgot to animate the middle section bending/swiveling, which is why the model is clipping. I missed the explanation of that section and had to look up how that kind of joint worked.

[@addmix]

New Mind posted another car video. It's a good day.

[@jareknowak8712]

The "In wheel motor" will be used in Emily GT (a car built by former SAAB engineers), which is scheduled to hit the market later this year. Videos of test drives are available on KZbin.

[@brendanharris9197]

Great explanation, although everytime you say Cardon Joint, I hear turbo encabulator guy.

[@Williraser]

Titles the video "The Ingenious Mechanics of Driveshafts" talks about Universal Joints for 40 Minutes

[@miinyoo]

Torsion drive shafts are great until they are only aluminum. Then you have to really worry about strength. Cheap ones often propose more than they can really deliver and can snap under very large changes in torque.

[@morkovija]

had too take a moment to reflect on the fact that this is free. Unbelievable

[@tiesdevos6897]

try drawing such a thing without cad, seems like a good excercize

[@arthurmcgregor2249]

I drew a plunging Rzeppa CV joint in cad and printed in with 3D Printer. Works great.

[@dries7547]

Yesss

[@au1317]

Shout out to the quantum homie Gerolamo Cardano for starting us all on this path

[@pwatom22]

Very interesting but I would like to see a deeper analysis of the comparison between double cardan and CV. A CV seems to be the better solution. Why do all car manufacturers use CV for their fwd axles and not double cardans?

[@spelunkerd]

Referring to the freeze frame at 7:38, I notice that the two joints seem to be lined up identically. In the monologue you say they need to be 90 deg out of phase. Am I correct to say that the configuration shown is what you want, that is from front to back they are indeed 90 deg out of phase?

[@AlRoderick]

Yes, you have to realize that the input of one side has to be out of phase with the input of the next one, but the output of each joint is always out of phase with its own input, so putting the two joints out of phase means that the input of the second joint has to be oriented the same as the output of the first joint.

[@chloehennessey6813]

I have a rock crawler for comp hill climbing if you want to check it out. Dry sump, pro charged 481X. At full sing it’s putting down roughly 1900 HP at the wheels.

[@SE45CX]

Do you know if ideally the tripod and the rzeppa joints need a different type of grease? I have bought a boot replacement kit from Toyota and there are different greases for these joints. Why would that be?

[@GeoffryGifari]

If we stack many small universal joints together with short shaft, could we transfer rotational motion through a flexible tube/"tentacle"?

[@otm646]

If contained in an outer sleeve yes, but you'd be better with a wire rope like what's used in a Dremel extension, pipe snake or early Pontiac Tempest driveshaft

[@seanoconnor8843]

I remember cutting hay with a scythe. Hard work. Btw, since when did we have grease "fittings"? I prefer "nipple"

[@AdamEarl2]

Dont be a zerk

[@poindextertunes]

@@AdamEarl2idk what a zerk is but it sounds like an aliens version of an @sshole

[@akhilaryappatt7209]

today we learn about driveshafts

[@lenowoo]

Watching this made realized just how much simpler electric vehicle are,. mechanically

[@DimiShimi]

The voice actor enjoyed speaking about the balls. XD Great vid.

[@pklimbic]

07:30 are the 2 universal joints in the graphic 90deg out of phase with eachother?

[@otm646]

Yes, they have to be. He explains that at least twice in the video.

[@limbiclife]

I know but it doesn't look like they are. Hence my comment. @@otm646

[@arthurmcgregor2249]

07:30 The two yokes on the tube are on the same plane. This is correct when the whole shaft is working on the same plane.

[@EyesOfByes]

Well, I get why Rimac did all this in software for the electric motor torque vectoring