Electrical wheel drive from ZF for agricultural applications

• Electrical single-wheel drive with three-phase asynchronous motor

• Compact high-integration motor design

• Fluid cooling

• Improved traction, increased driving safety, ground conservation

At Agritechnica 2015 ZF is presenting for the first time an electrical single-wheel drive for agricultural applications. The scope of deployment for this novel driveline design is wide ranging. Electrically driven axle systems for trailers and slurry tankers as well as electrically driven stabiliser wheels for ploughs are just some examples of this.

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With the electrically driven wheel hub units ZF engineers have developed an innovative driveline solution for applications in agricultural engineering which is suitable for professional applications with the highest requirements.

Due to the sharing of the drive power between the tractor and trailer or attachment there are substantial advantages in difficult driving situations, e.g. with movement across a slope. The highly dynamically controlled traction support from the electrical drive facilitates working under arduous conditions. Consequently, cultivation of the fields during adverse weather conditions with softened ground is possible. The time frames available to the farmer for field work are therefore significantly lengthened.

Through the reduced tractive power requirement on the tractor, constant or increased load demands from the trailer or attachment can be fulfilled with a smaller tractor model. The weight saved on the towing vehicle can be used, for example, for additional trailer loading.

The electrical drive is provided by a fluid-cooled three-phase asynchronous motor with a high power density and a following transmission stage. The motor is integrated in the wheel hub unit to save space. The system can also be optionally fitted with a wheel brake. The rated voltage is 400 V. The motor power and drive torque are sufficient for most requirements in agricultural engineering.

Due to this new development, the extensive product range from ZF in the field of transmissions and axles for agricultural machine systems has been extended with another innovative drive solution.

A large number of customer projects are in the test phase or will be implemented shortly.