Rack and pinions are used for lifting mechanisms (vertical movement), horizontal motion, positioning mechanisms, stoppers and also to permit the synchronous rotation of a number of shafts generally industrial machinery. On the other hand, also, they are used in steering systems to improve the direction of vehicles. The characteristics of rack and pinion systems in steering are the following: simple structure, high rigidity, small and lightweight, and superb responsiveness. With this mechanism, the pinion, installed to the steering shaft, is usually meshed with a steering rack to transmit rotary movement laterlly (transforming it to linear motion) to ensure that you can control the wheel. Furthermore, rack and pinions are used for many other purposes, such as toys and lateral slide gates.

As a mechanical element to transfer rotary into linear motion, gear racks tend to be compared to ball screws. There are advantages and disadvantages for using racks in place of ball screws. The benefits of a equipment rack are its mechanical simplicity, huge load carrying capacity, no limit to the space, etc. One drawback though may be the backlash. The advantages of a ball screw will be the high precision and lower backlash while its shortcomings include the limit in length due to deflection.

There are applications where the gear rack is stationary, while the pinion traverses and others where in fact the pinion rotates on a fixed axis as the gear rack moves. The previous is used widely in conveying systems as the latter can be Spur Gear Rack utilized in extrusion systems and lifting/lowering applications.

To provide many variants of rack and pinion, KHK has various kinds of gear racks in share. If the application requires a long length requiring multiple gear racks in series, we have racks with the tooth forms properly configured at the ends. They are described as “gear racks with machined ends”. When a gear rack is created, the tooth cutting process and heat treatment process can cause it to try & walk out true. We are able to control this with unique presses & remedial processes.