Innovation Award: Silver Medal for the Front Wheel Assistance of M A N Trucks
The German manufacturer of trucks, M A N, has received the Silver Medal, in the category of "Equipment and Components", for the Innovation Award sponsored by Intermat for their product HydroDrive(TM); this system is in partnership with Poclain Hydraulics. This award was given to M A N in Villepinte Paris-North Monday April 24th, the first day of the International exhibition.
HydroDrive(TM), which is a result from a collaboration between two companies, is a hydraulic system for front wheels assist drive on trucks. This allows the driver to combine the advantages of both two and four wheel drive transmissions. This innovation has many advantages:
Two wheel drive mode (assist drive OFF) :
o Low vehicle center of gravity (easier to handle on the road),
o Low fuel consumption (HydroDrive(TM) is inactive at high speed),
o Short turning radius,
o Moderate empty weight.
Four wheel drive mode (assist drive ON) :
o Enhanced traction on rough terrain,
o Able to engage on the go.
Thanks to (2) hydrostatic wheel motors with rotating housing MFE08 of Poclain Hydraulics which motorize the front truck axle, M A N proposes to their customers an option of "4 wheel drive on/off". Whereas the rear wheel mechanical drive is permanent, this hydrostatic assist drive system is only used when the driver is having difficulties, thus engages the system and begins moving.
