Posted to News on 29th Oct 2008, 20:53
Nano Wheel is a simple way to motorise products
PML reports that its innovative Hi-Pa Drive and Nano Wheel brushless electric motor technology is breaking new ground. Hi-Pa Drive propulsion (whereby four PML brushless electric motors are integrated into each of a car's four wheels, providing both power and full regenerative braking in the process) has already been fitted to and trialled successfully on the Mini QED. And now Volvo has embraced the benefits of PML's revolutionary Hi-Pa Drive technology and is incorporating the full QED system into its latest concept vehicle, the Volvo ReCharge. This was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
PML's new Nano Wheel is a simpler (and far cheaper) development of PML's Hi-Pa Drive technology. It is claimed to revolutionise hub motor design and end user-friendliness across huge swathes of wheeled products. A Nano Wheel has its electric motor enclosed within its hub and costs just tens of pounds (depending on quantities supplied). So, at little extra cost, PML's new Nano Wheel will transform something that is difficult to push or pull into something that can be power-assisted or fully powered.
The Nano Wheel's hub motor can be rated at 2-10Nm and fits within the wheel - which incorporates its own patented integral suspension system as part of the one-piece injection moulded wheel. The Nano Wheel is compact, light and simple and has already been incorporated into a power-assisted wheeled suitcase. And now an all-new, fully-powered golf trolley is shortly to hit the market, complete with regenerative braking.
The advantages offered by the Nano Wheel are numerous. Since there is no gearbox or drive shaft, it is compact and light, offering an exceptional power-to-weight ratio. For the same reason, it folds away better than a wheel connected to a drive shaft. And thanks to its direct hub drive, it has fewer moving parts, less friction and provides more power from a given battery source.
