ABM DRIVES Inc., Milford, Ohio, has added the modular-design, wide-wheel bevel gear drives for pallet truck OEMs. The TDB254WR drives bring greater compactness, stability, efficiencies and design flexibility to traction drives for pallet, reach, narrow aisle and stand-up trucks; AGVs; sweepers; and scrubbers. Special gearing allows for a 7-inch swing radius for wide wheel (up to 5-inch tread) capability with zero-offset drive.
The ABM bevel gear drives use a modular design to allow OEMs to configure the same base unit for large or small vehicles and walkie or rider pallet truck models. The wide range of gear-ratios, 14:1 to 39:1, allows OEMs to achieve optimal speed ranges and motor efficiencies for each vehicle type. Critical to vehicle control and safety in tight spaces, ABM matches centerlines of motor and wheel to eliminate offsets, which can cause a truck to pull to one side — torque steer— on acceleration.
The modular design allows OEMs to custom-specify motor, steering, gear ratios, tiller mounting setup, and endshields from a single source, fully assembled, and integrated at package savings. OEMs can choose between a range of high-efficiency UL-approved AC induction motors up to 5.2HP/4.0kW for battery voltages of 24V, 36V, 48V, 72V and 80V, a variety of motor sizes and lengths, and 10-inch diameter standard wheel or 12-inch optional wheel. Three steering choices are available: direct drive tiller, assisted (chain and sprocket), or fully integrated by-wire steering, plus holding brake options.
Additionally, ABM Drives has introduced an encoder-free motion control with a new line of zero-slip, high-efficiency Sinochron motors rated at 0.33 to 13.4 hp. The motors eliminate the need for an encoder in medium accuracy applications and produce torque equal to the next larger frame size of a standard AC motor. Sinochron motors exceed EPACT 1 efficiency in fractional horsepower sizes, delivering 25 to 40 percent higher efficiency, depending on the operating range. They can be used for a wide range of medium-dynamic, medium-accuracy applications, such as crane drives, powder-coating machines, packaging machines, and hydraulic pumps.
Enclosed in aluminum housing, Sinochron motors use a standard three-phase stator winding with a custom-designed rotor, having permanent magnets embedded in the stack. This produces a perfectly sinusoidal magnetic field and even flux distribution in the motor, resulting in smooth, constant-speed operation independent of the load with no torque ripple. The perfectly sinusoidal back-EMF signal from the motor allows sensorless drive controllers to calculate speed and position without an encoder, eliminating the cost, reliability and additional wiring issues for an encoder. Typical accuracy can be under 1° when coupled to a gearbox, or ±5° at the motor shaft.
Sinochron motors are ideal for use in battery-powered traction and steering applications or as a low-cost alternative to servos in medium-dynamic applications. The embedded permanent-magnet design produces a higher dynamic than a standard AC motor for faster response/acceleration with better speed control. It also allows field weakening for overspeed use at reduced output torque, while the high efficiency delivers longer battery life between charges.
Sinochron motors are sealed to IP 65, and compliant with CE, UL, DIN EN 61800-3 and RoHS. Numerous hardware and software options are available, including gearboxes, brakes, connectors, etc.
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