Rack and Pinion Steering

A simplified model of how a car steers: the steering wheel turns a pinion gear, which slides a rack sideways, which turns the wheels through linkages and universal joints.

It shows how rotation becomes straight-line motion and back, and how linkages connect parts that move differently.

Design by Tooks on Printables, shared under CC BY 4.0. The files and photos are the designer's, unchanged.

1. Print one of each part (two linkages, two wheels, four linkage pins, two outer U-joints, four U-joint pins), with supports.
2. Glue where the original instructions say.
3. Students trace the motion from the steering wheel to the road wheels and name each part.