Optimal Design of the Six-Wheel Steering System with Multiple Steering Modes

Vehicles will face different working conditions during the use, and different working conditions have different requirements for vehicle functions, which results in many subdivided models. An off-road vehicle is a subdivision model produced to adapt to complex road conditions. In order to adapt to complex road conditions, vehicles should have a good passing ability, small size, and good flexibility. The six-wheeled vehicle has both good passing ability and small volume, which is the best choice for off-road vehicles. The design of the steering system becomes the key step to improve the flexibility of the six-wheeled vehicle. This paper mainly designs an independent steering system for a six-wheel electric vehicle with higher flexibility. The system is designed for six-wheel electric vehicles driven by six in-wheel motors. It mainly includes mechanical steering system and electronic control steering system. Both mechanical steering systems and electronic control steering system have multiple steering modes. Firstly, this paper introduces the various steering modes of the mechanical steering system and the electronic control steering system. Secondly, a CAD model is established by using the software Solidworks, and the system structure is introduced in detail combined with the CAD model. Finally, a kinematics model is established and calculated. The calculation results showed that the steering system can significantly improve the flexibility of the vehicle, so that the vehicle can complete the steering stably and quickly on complex road sections.