crankshaft

Also known as crank shaft

thumb|upright=1.2|Crankshaft (red), pistons (gray), cylinders (blue) and flywheel (black)

AI overview

A crankshaft is a rotating metal shaft inside an engine that converts the up-and-down motion of pistons into rotational motion, which ultimately powers the wheels of a vehicle. It's essential to how engines work because without it, the linear movement of pistons couldn't be transformed into the spinning action needed to drive machinery.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Cshaft.gif

Show 2 more facts

Commons category: Crankshafts
Commons gallery: Crankshaft

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~10 min read

Article

18 sections

Contents

Design
Bearings
Piston stroke
Cross-plane and flat-plane configurations
Engine balance
Flying arms
Counter-rotating crankshafts
Eccentricity and dynamic displacement of diesel engines
Construction
Forged crankshafts
Cast crankshafts
Machined crankshafts
History
Crankshaft
See also
References
Sources
External links

thumb|upright=1.2|Crankshaft (red), pistons (gray), cylinders (blue) and flywheel (black)

A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting rods.