gearbox and frameless motor with a
range of encoder options. One series
is the MAH, which has a standard
hollow shaft and frame sizes from
60mm to 145mm diameter. Rated
torques of up to 800Nm are available
and precision is up to 30 arcseconds.
The MAT series has a wider
hollow shaft and offers a precision
of up to 40 arcseconds, while the
MAS series have a solid shaft and a
precision of up to 50 arcseconds.
Across the whole series, all the
models are exible, reliable, low
maintenance and compact. Gear
ratios are available from 51:1 to up to
161:1. All models are fully enclosed
and self-cooled and can be speci ed
with IP67 ingress protection when
operation is required in harsh
environments.
Standard input voltages are
48VDC, 110VAC and 220VAC, and
input voltages can be customised on
request, as can the torque, etc.
As well as robotics and factory
automation, applications for the
versatile motors include electronic
and semiconductor equipment,
medical equipment, precision
measuring instruments, machine
tools, laser processing and spraypainting
equipment.
Renold Gears has launched a
leak-free technology kit for heavyduty
gearboxes that can either be
supplied with new units or retro tted
to existing ones.
After a lengthy development
process, extensive testing of
a gearbox tted with the new
technology showed that all
components received suf cient
lubrication and, most importantly,
without any oil leakage. The
operational temperatures were
also found to be signi cantly lower,
indicating reduced power losses of
up to 14%.
Overall the results of the tests
showed that the new solution
operated better than the standard
con guration. After delivery to
Tubelines a gearbox tted with
the new leak-free kit passed all
testing protocols and was eventually
installed on an escalator where it
has been operating satisfactorily at a
busy station without any issues.
Commenting on the project,
Roger Godson, of Renold Gears,
said: ‘We’re very proud to have
been invited to develop a leak-free
gearbox solution for Tubelines
and to have made a contribution
to signi cantly reducing the
maintenance of escalator drives on
the London Underground.’
Whilst initially designed
for heavy load escalators at
underground stations the new leakfree
gearbox technology is perfectly
suited to a wide range of heavyduty
heavyincluding,
industrial applications
including, conveying, mining
and quarrying, cement
manufacture, pumping,
water and wastewater
treatment, metal manufacture
and power generation, etc. !
NEW MANUAL GEARBOX
ENABLES CO2 SAVINGS
Volkswagen has developed a new state-of-theart
manual gearbox: The MQ281, as it is known,
works e ciently and saves up to ve grams of CO2
per kilometre depending on the engine-gearbox
combination. The new Passat is the rst vehicle to be
equipped with the MQ281, followed by almost all vehicle
classes of the Volkswagen Group.
Only slight modi cations were su cient to improve
e ciency and consumption with a huge impact
on emissions and the environment. Although they
function unobtrusively, manual gearboxes have a
signi cant share of the gearbox market worldwide due
to a high installation rate.
The trend towards vehicles from the SUV segment
with large-diameter wheels places high demands on the
gearbox. “With the MQ281, we have developed a highly
e cient manual gearbox that reliably meets these
demands – and is soon to be introduced into a number
of vehicle classes in the volume segment,” explains
Helmut Göbbels, head of manual gearbox and fourwheel
drive development at Volkswagen. The MQ281
has a torque spectrum of 200 to 340 newton metres,
which means it completely or partially supersedes the
current Volkswagen gearbox designs with the internal
designations MQ250 and MQ350 respectively.
It is based on a 2.5 shaft concept and boasts a high
gear spread of maximum 7.89. On the one hand, this
guarantees good driving o performance – even for
heavy vehicles with large wheels – and facilitates, on
the other hand, “downspeeding”, which is (fuel-saving)
driving in high gears with low engine speed.
Material use and its distribution for the gearbox
housing was also optimised. With the aid of a further
virtual development tool, a strength- optimised
housing structure could be designed. The new housing
supports the noise requirements of today (avoidance
of undesired secondary noises) and therefore ensures
improved driving comfort through less audible and
noticeable vibrations in the vehicle.
As is the case with many Volkswagen
gearboxes, the MQ281 is produced inhouse.
Ramp-up is currently underway
in the factories in Barcelona (Spain)
and Córdoba
(Argentina).
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