Revolution in Motion | Gruber Motors

Wheel-powered motors, also known as in-wheel motors or hub motors, are electric motors that are integrated directly into the wheels of a vehicle.

This video discusses advantages, and proposes this may just be the next revolution in drive train technology.

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#aptera #grubermotors #electricvehicle #in-wheel #in-wheelmotors #elaphe #ev #proteon #solo #electrameccanica

[apterachallenge]

It strikes me that in-wheel motors would be the perfect solution for any company wanting to create a universal EV conversion kit that can be fitted to any ICE car as a means of speeding up electrification of our vehicle fleet. You could fit a couple of in-wheel motors either at the front or rear of a car, or all four if you want to go AWD, and then just fill the engine compartment and fuel tank cavity with batteries after removing all the ICE gear. The fact that you can eliminate the engine, transmission and axles from the engine compartment means more room for batteries and therefore more range and efficiency from an EV conversion. As the cost of batteries continues to come down, EV conversions are going to become a great way for people to take an existing vehicle with plenty of miles left in it, and replace a combustion engine that is eventually going to wear out and give trouble, with electric motors and batteries (along with controllers, inverters, chargers etc) to give you a 21st century sustainable energy vehicle that will comply with any future environmental regulations likely to be introduced.

[scruffy]

Interesting idea. Not sure about added unsprung weight. Steering geometry is going to take some engineering. While turning, outside wheels have higher surface feet per minute and constantly changing depending on the radius of the turn. Motors in the rear, same thing. More software control of the motor hubs. The braking part would be easy. You can stop a lot of mass with the VFD drives. We did it at work and it was a lot more weight than a vehicle. You could have a lot less wheel slippage. A very controlled stop.
This concept has been tried before, I don't think the software was up to speed though.

[christhomas]

The electric Volvo C30 prototype had also inwheel-motors - it is a shame it was never produced.
Thanks a lot for this video!

[glenncornwall]

There is just one problem with having in hub electric motors especially on the front axle to drive the car and that is there is horrendous centrifugal forces that will whack the car out of alignment in turns, That is to say it will not actually turn as well as a car that has half shafts driving the hubs.

[davidberesford]

Moving the electro-magnets out to near the tire means you can have a "linear" motor that runs around the rim, with all the advantages of increased torque and control that implies.

[Crunch_dGH]

Thx Gruber Motors for the salient explanation!

[incognitotorpedo]

Where do the brakes go? I don't see how hub motors can reduce unsprung weight. How is an entire motor lighter than a half shaft? Wheels are a pretty rough environment in terms of dirt, water, and vibration. It doesn't seem like a great place for a motor.

[godzuki]

Where can we buy an in wheel motor kit? Its a perfect solution to convert ICE care into hibrids and later into full electric!

[simhopp]

this can be used in the bogey wheels of battle tanks, armoured vehicles, etc. with a Diesel Electric power plant.
even if the track gets cut, the vehicle will still be able to move in paved road.

[Jermih]

ZF makes something like this for commercial truck/coach applications. We use it on our center axle on our 60” bus fleet. It’s cool tech.

[pan]

The info with Aptera didn‘t age well. They switched away from the hub motors. Wonder why.

[ericverlaet]

Vibrations shock and giroscopic effect and weight, price are the killer of this
This dream cost in the past a lot of money to hydro Québec, pionnier in this tech...
Nice dream

[aphaileeja]

...more tech, condiments, pet stowage, boating\fishing equipment, sleeping quarters, so much cleared space! Mines gonna look like a Crabby Patty lol

[kevinmovei]

One person shared me this idea 3 years back.... now i see it in reality..

[solomonessix]

I've been interested in this technology for at a least a decade and wondering when it would make its debut. At the time the primary obstacle was the unsprung weight. I not sure how robust the engine would need to be but I figure a poorly maintained road system with potholes would be a detriment to these unsprung wheel motors. I figure the motors would have be attached to the sprung mass and connected to the wheels via half or quarter shaft system to ensure longevity of the motors.

[MathieuDeVinois]

The best and IMHO most obvious use case for solutions like potrean are electric conversions of ICE cars. But sadly it’s not on the market for normal people.

[RichiRich]

Such nice presentation not dure why likes are so less...

[btfofffice]

In wheel technology can help with Trailers, trucks, and Camper vans.

[leeandadaelliott]

My Samsung washer uses a kind of pancake motor that must be similar to (at least in theory of operation) as a wheel motor. It is directly connected to the clothes basket and is multi speed and reversible. Its more than 10 years old and has been trouble free.

[tarassu]

What about unsprung weight? How can that be dealt?