Planetary Gearbox for Mobile Cranes

Wheel and Track Drive unifies the gearbox, motor, and braking mechanism into a compact assembly that is placed in the drive sprocket of a single wheel or tracked vehicle. This eliminates the need for a drivetrain that transmits power from the central engine to the rolling elements of the vehicle. Planetary gearboxes have two, three or more planetary stages. They are available in many different hydraulic or electric motor models.

The motors used for planetary drives are usually electrically or hydraulically driven. Hydraulic wheel drives are compatible with most industrial hydraulic systems. They are common in self-propelled machinery and off-road applications. Manufacturers will include disc or drum brakes, as well as parking brakes. A manual clutch system is also usually provided, which allows the decoupling of the gear unit from the motor for emergency towing.

Planetary orbital drives need to transmit more torque than planetary wheel drives. As a result, their gearboxes feature high-strength materials and strong radial and axial load capacity. Hydraulic motors and disc brakes are the most common.

Planetary gearboxes in mobile applications are used as propulsion drives for tracked vehicles or wheel drives for wheeled vehicles. They can also be used as swing drives for rotary motion and as winch drives for lifting and lowering loads. Applications for wheel and track drives include heavy machinery such as bulldozers, cranes, and agricultural and transport vehicles. Municipal vehicles such as road sweepers refuse collectors, and material handling vehicles such as forklifts and yard vehicles also use wheel drive for propulsion.

Features

• High radial and axial load capacity
• High torque capacity
• Reliable oil seal protection
• Universal and SAE input direct mounting flanges
• Designed for direct mounting into wheel rims.

Wheel and track drives feature a variety of gear ratios that allow the powertrain to operate at optimum efficiency. The versatility of the planetary drive is guaranteed by the wide availability of the braking system, and thanks to the wide range of ratios available within the gearbox, there is a solution for almost any type of transmission or application.