Axial Differential: Assembled

Looks like Shane beat me to it but here goes anyways...

The transformation from a live axle to a split one is a serious commitment. If one piddly gear is misaligned then all of the gears are misaligned. Nevertheless, with the bearing supports from the waterjet in and with the taste of finally driving the kart in our mouths, it was time to assemble the diff:

Does Ferrari lay out there parts with this level of OCD?

Through recklessless machining meticulous planning and attention to detail (Shane, I wrote this before yours and didn't get around to posting...not my fault that we write similarly), the diff went together seamlessly. The first hub was bored so that the 1/2" holes for the idle gear rods would be a couple thousandths greater in diameter than those of the second. This high tolerance is compensated for by the countersunk screws that hold the rods in place. Those rods were also hydraulically pressed into one hub and are not going anywhere soon. Here she is assembled:

This looks familiar...

There were a few last minute additions to keep the beast together; thrust bearings prevent friction between the aluminum hub and steel gears, and retaining clips keep the gears on the shaft. The bearings pressed into the hubs do not provide lateral support to the output shafts. However, the kart frame has bearings with set screws built in which will absorb all of the load. Shane didn't show you this:

Even dry, the output shafts spin with minimal resistance, which can be attributed to the - robust - weight of this thing. Similar shout-out to Charles for the concept. Stay tuned to see how it holds up once we begin road testing!

Differential Render

Just a few clicks in SolidWorks and several battery lives later and voila, a high-res rendering of the spur gear differential gearbox. To see where this will go see Shane Colton's Blog.