Hydrostatic Motors - Direct or Indirect?

The case for hydrostatic drives in off-the-road vehicles has been made by the National Engineering Laboratory and its industrial collaborators and increasingly elsewhere in other parts of the world. Within the fluid power industry, the case, or the argument, for using high-speed motors working through reduction gearboxes-as against direct-drive hydrostatic motors -is still unresolved. The paper examines the pros and cons of the situation and advances the reasons why, at NEL, we incline toward direct hub drive solutions.