Nanotec releases compact wheel drive for mobile robots

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Nanotec’s WD42 wheel drive for mobile robots. | Credit: Nanotec

Nanotec has released its WD42 compact wheel drive for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and service robots. The short drive unit consists of a brushless DC motor, high-torque planetary gearbox, magnetic encoder, and exchangeable wheel.

Nanotec said all of the components are integrated directly at the wheel, which makes the drive only 103 mm long and reduces the number of moving parts and connections.

Offering a nominal speed of up to 2.2 m/sec and a rated power of 183 W, the WD42 wheel drive allows self-propelled vehicles to move with agility and precision. Wheel diameters from 75 to 140 mm and four reduction ratios are available to meet individual requirements. Thanks to its space-saving design, the new wheel drive even fits under Euro pallets and is suitable for small robots or applications with limited installation space.

In addition to these integrated wheel drives, Nanotec also offers modular wheel drives that consist of a wheel, gearbox, and bearing. Combined with Nanotec’s motors and controllers, they facilitate the development and production of service robots and AGVs. Both wheel drive types fit into different platforms and help perform a wide range of tasks in warehouses, hospitals, nursing homes, or hotels.

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Nanotec also recently announced that its intelligent PD6 compact drives are now available with Profinet and EtherNet/IP. They combine motor, controller, and encoder in a space-saving package that delivers maximum performance and flexibility.

With its 80 mm flange and a rated power of 942 W, the PD6-EB is the most powerful brushless DC motor of this product family. The stepper motor version has an 86 mm flange (NEMA 34) and a holding torque of up to 10 Nm. In combination with extended features, such as acceleration feed-forward and jerk-limited ramps, Nanotec said the field-orientated torque, speed, and position control provide dynamic performance and cycle time.

The motors can be controlled via fieldbus, clock & direction or analog and digital inputs. For integration into customer applications, there are 6 fieldbus options to choose from. Programming is performed with the free Plug & Drive Studio software from Nanotec.