As ‘green’ grabs more headlines, so electric motors are being
developed for ever widening fields of use. Hampshire based PML
Flightlink Ltd has developed a revolutionary 15cm diameter motorised
wheel that can power anything from scooters to wheelchairs and hospital
trolleys.
PML has been designing and producing an extensive range of electric
motors for well over 40 years. It has pioneered (amongst other things) servo motor engineering and
flat armature technology. It has developed joysticks (used in the
electric wheel chair industry) as well as a revolutionary wheel motor
and a new range of brushless pancake motors.
These products are adapted to a variety of specifications and uses
within different market sectors; such as defence, aerospace, motion
control, processing, printing, instrumentation and test and measurement
equipment.
Now PML’s revolutionary new Hi-Pa Drive and Nano Wheel brushless
electric motor technology is breaking completely 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. You can see a video of the car at the end of this
article.
PML’s
new Nano Wheel is a simpler (and far cheaper) development of PML’s Hi-Pa
Drive technology. It revolutionises hub motor design and end-user
friendliness across huge swathes of wheeled products. The 15-cm diameter Nano Wheel has
its electric motor enclosed within its hub and costs just tens of pounds
(depending on quantity supplied).
So, at little extra cost, PML’s new Nano Wheel will transform
something you struggle to push or pull into something that can be
power-assisted or fully powered. The Nano Wheel’s hub motor can have a
power
between 2 and 10 Nm (Newton metre) and fits within the wheel — which
incorporates its own patented integral suspension system. This is part
of the one-piece wheel injection moulding.
The Nano
Wheel is compact, light and simple and has already been incorporated
into a wheeled suitcase which is power assisted. PLM has developed a
powered mini scooter with
high-profile European partners including Peugeot and with support from
the European Commission under the PRAZE project. The aim of the project
was to improve the efficiency of the battery powered electric scooter,
and create "personal zero emission transport for the city of the
future”. An all new
fully powered golf trolley that also benefits from regenerative braking is
shortly to hit the market.
The Nano Wheel is particularly suited to health services for use in
wheelchairs, theatre trolleys and even heavy equipment that has to be
moved from ward to ward. It will save time and reduce physical strain on
health service staff.
The Nano Wheels can either be power assisted (ie they cut in to
assist when someone pushes the object) or be fully self-propelled. PML’s
unique integrated control system makes operation straightforward and the
motor’s inherent efficiency keeps battery consumption low. The
advantages offered by 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.