Integrated wheel drive for electric machines

Italy’s Benevelli Group, a specialist in powertrain components for electric equipment and vehicles, has introduced two new wheel drive system for light- and medium-duty electric machinery. Both of the new WD Series drives are fully integrated, all-in-one systems designed to fit inside standard wheels.

Benevelli’s new WD Series wheel drives.

The WD Series drives offer high radial load capacities (up to 3 tons) and are modular and scalable, allowing them to be used in a wide range of battery powered vehicles, the company said. Each unit consists of a high-density interior permanent magnet (IPM) electric motor and a two-stage planetary gearbox, all packaged to allow for an easy and quick installation, Benevelli said.

Output torques range from 147.5 to 737.5 lb.ft. (200 to 1000 Nm) with maximum input speeds up to 4500 rpm. The series is available with different gear ratios and motor options, enabling them to deliver high torque performance and efficiency across a wide range of vehicle and machine applications.

“Electric machinery is usually required to work in rapidly changing conditions of speed and torque, this often makes the motors run in low-efficiency conditions,” said Alessandro Benevelli, chief commercial officer at Benevelli Group. “For this work, we propose the use of two electrical motors combined with specific planetary geartrains. The combination of the torques and speeds of the integrated electric motors makes the wheel drives work at better values of efficiency than traditional solutions.”

Benevelli added that the WD Series is the company’s newest wheel drive system for light- and medium-duty machinery segments and is one of the most efficient and powerful systems the Rubiera, Italy-based manufacturer it has ever developed.

www.benevelli-group.com