The hydraulic power steering cutaway (BST102) tends to demonstrate the common steering system of modern contemporary passenger cars, light trucks and SUVs. The hydraulic power steering cutaway helps the trainees to fully understand its basic working principles by observing the internal construction and components of a hydraulic power steering system, and how the rotational input from the steering wheel is transformed into linear motion to direct the vehicles wheels with the help of pressurized fluid that would have come from a pump.
- The hydraulic power steering cutaway is mounted on a robust frame which can be easily relocated.
- The model is based on a real rack-and-pinion type hydraulic power assisted steering, with all the components of a real vehicle that are required for the steering operation such as: the steering wheel, steering shaft, rack and pinion gear box, rotary valve, torsion rod, rack piston, oil reservoir, oil pump, oil paths and tie rods of the wheels, and all components are connected together.
- The system is sectioned and showcased with different color cross-sections and components to ease observing the internal construction, components and operation.
- The unit is functional and includes a steering wheel attached to the steering shaft to introduce the rotational input.
- The unit allows observing the connection between the tie rods, rack, pinion, rotary valve, torsion bar and steering wheel.
- The trainee can observe clearly the motion of the vehicle steering and how the simple mechanism of a rack and pinion can convert the rotational motion of the steering wheel into linear motion needed to turn the wheel.
- The rotary valve is sectioned to allow observing the internal component and construction of the rotary valve, and how it would operate to admit pressurized fluid into the steering gearbox to assist the driver in the wheels’ direction.
- The unit also allows observing steering ratio, which is the ratio between number of rotations of the steering wheel and the turning angle of the wheels.
- The hydraulic power steering pump is also sectioned to allow observing its operating principles with a hand wheel attached to it to give it input rotation that would have come from the engine through a belt.
- A detailed and colored diagram for oil path and the construction of the system printed on the unit's panel to help the trainee visualize the hydraulic paths and how the rotary valve works to distribute the pressurized fluid inside the steering gearbox according to the torque applied by driver on the steering wheel.