What is the purpose of the crankshaft?

Answer 1

The crankshaft, simply put, converts reciprical motion into rotary motion, thereby trnsmitting the horsepower and motion created by the piston and rod assemblies through the rotary motion of the crankshaft to the transmission and then wheels.

Answer 2

It has 2 purposes. 1- to turn the engine over when first starting so the combustion process can begin. 2- most important it transfers the piston movement from up and down lateral motion to radial turning, providing mechanical energy to do many tasks. The most common is driving the transmission of an auto, but it is also used in power stations to turn generators. In large ships, it turns the propellers.

Crankshaft is used to change linear motion into rotational or circular motion. inother words it is used to change the pull or the push into rolling.