Twist beam axle assembly and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

A twist axle assembly (20) of a vehicle includes a pair of trailing arms (22) and a twist beam (24) extending along an axis (A) between first and second twist beam ends (26, 28). The twist axle assembly (20) further includes a bushing (38) interconnected to each one of the first and second twist beam ends (26, 28) and a respective trailing arm (22) for establishing a weld-less joint between the twist beam (24) and the trailing arm (24). In an embodiment, the twist beam (24) and bushings (38) are tubular, and the bushings (38) are press-fit or molded onto the respective first or second twist beam ends (36, 38). In a further embodiment, the trailing arms (26) define an orifice (40) aligned on the axis (A), and the tubular bushings (38) are press-fit into the orifices (40) of the trailing arms (26) to establish the weld-less joint.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.