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Don't worry, hub motors are so completely bad in highway-capable vehicles that even the most oblivious person would notice while on a test drive. They won't get

by coryrc 7y ago

Don't worry, hub motors are so completely bad in highway-capable vehicles that even the most oblivious person would notice while on a test drive. They won't get a chance to sell.

ncmncm 7y ago
Hub motors make excellent sense in indoor forklifts, which are often electric anyway. The reduced weight is not so important there, because the forklift body needs to weigh enough, but moving to the wheels means there is more room for batteries. Size matters, in forklifts, which need to maneuver in tight spaces. Trucks and trains are often not sprung, and can benefit from lighter, smaller,more efficient hub motors. Cooling is easier when the whole motor is moving through the air.
- lightedman 7y ago
  "The reduced weight is not so important there, because the forklift body needs to weigh enough" More than the body needs to weigh enough, you need a proper center of gravity via weight distribution or you're simply going to tilt the thing over and wreck everything when you lift an object (source: have multiple sit/stand/clamp lift certifications.) "Size matters, in forklifts, which need to maneuver in tight spaces." That's why we made the reach forklift, which is operated while standing up. Half the footprint of a traditional forklift with the ability to reach out across a shelf to pick up a pallet. Where this will make even more sense is for driving conveyor belts on assembly lines. You'll save more power there in a manufacturing warehouse environment than you typically will switching your entire forklift fleet over to these new motors.
- 91aintprime 7y ago
  This is a very good comment
theincredulousk 7y ago
While an expensive option, if the advantages of an in-wheel motor were sufficient for a given application, active/magnetorheological suspension could largely compensate for it. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.678.7884&rep=rep1&type=pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.678... https://www.clearmotion.com/ https://www.clearmotion.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaMpG4Y640 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaMpG4Y640 Further, on newer vehicles with the trend of 20inch+ rims, that is already 60-90+lbs (27-40+kg) of unsprung weight per wheel with tire. There is certainly room there for improvement to offset at least some of the motor weight. Would have to know how much their in-wheel models would actually weigh though to determine beyond speculation if it could be reasonably compensated for in a highway vehicle.

by coryrc 7y ago

Don't worry, hub motors are so completely bad in highway-capable vehicles that even the most oblivious person would notice while on a test drive. They won't get a chance to sell.

ncmncm 7y ago

Hub motors make excellent sense in indoor forklifts, which are often electric anyway. The reduced weight is not so important there, because the forklift body needs to weigh enough, but moving to the wheels means there is more room for batteries. Size matters, in forklifts, which need to maneuver in tight spaces. Trucks and trains are often not sprung, and can benefit from lighter, smaller,more efficient hub motors. Cooling is easier when the whole motor is moving through the air.

lightedman 7y ago
"The reduced weight is not so important there, because the forklift body needs to weigh enough" More than the body needs to weigh enough, you need a proper center of gravity via weight distribution or you're simply going to tilt the thing over and wreck everything when you lift an object (source: have multiple sit/stand/clamp lift certifications.) "Size matters, in forklifts, which need to maneuver in tight spaces." That's why we made the reach forklift, which is operated while standing up. Half the footprint of a traditional forklift with the ability to reach out across a shelf to pick up a pallet. Where this will make even more sense is for driving conveyor belts on assembly lines. You'll save more power there in a manufacturing warehouse environment than you typically will switching your entire forklift fleet over to these new motors.
91aintprime 7y ago
This is a very good comment

theincredulousk 7y ago

While an expensive option, if the advantages of an in-wheel motor were sufficient for a given application, active/magnetorheological suspension could largely compensate for it. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.678.7884&rep=rep1&type=pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.678... https://www.clearmotion.com/ https://www.clearmotion.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagneRide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaMpG4Y640 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaMpG4Y640 Further, on newer vehicles with the trend of 20inch+ rims, that is already 60-90+lbs (27-40+kg) of unsprung weight per wheel with tire. There is certainly room there for improvement to offset at least some of the motor weight. Would have to know how much their in-wheel models would actually weigh though to determine beyond speculation if it could be reasonably compensated for in a highway vehicle.