The Coils: The coils
are the other half of the system - and the trickiest bit!
The trick is to fit as many coils in as possible, able to
carry the largest current you can manage. Heinzmann's coil
designs are very sophisticated (and very secret!), but manage
to squeeze in a lot more power than all the textbooks say
is possible - up to 3 horsepower in some motors!
The Bearings: The bearing which a motor and
gearbox run on are vital - they are going to get a lot of
abuse and no maintenance! Heinzmann only use genuine SKF sealed
bearings, not cheaper far-eastern imitations.
The Gears: The gears are the only real wearing
parts in a motor and gearbox, so they have to be good. Heinzmann's
are made out of hardened steel, with a helical tooth pattern
to reduce wear. In the lower-power motors, Heinzmann make
the intermediate cog out of tough nylon to reduce noise -
even these last three years or more of daily use.
The Castings: Although it's bigger than a
standard hub, there's no superfluous metal in the Heinzmann
hub - everything is machined down to save weight without sacrificing
strength.
The Thermistor: This is the bit almost all
other systems miss out! The Heinzmann motor has a built-in
thermistor which keeps an eye on the motor temperature.
Who Uses What and Why: Many cheaper electric
hand cycles use switched DC motors, basically because they
are very simple. No gears or bearings are needed, and the
complicated electronics can be mass-produced on a microchip.
Almost all more expensive electric hand cycles use standard
DC motors because of their high torque and reliability. Heinzmann
use a very sophisticated standard DC motor with the best bearings
and gearbox money can buy to make the motor extremely reliable.
Controller: A pulse-width controller, controlled
by the throttle on the handlebar. The throttle has an on/off
switch and light, and there's a keyswitch on the controller.
The controller also has safety features to protect you and
other parts of the system: it monitors the temperature of
the motor at all times, and it monitors every cell in the
pack - if anything goes wrong (very rare!) it cuts out to
protect you and everything else.
Specifications:
5726 Motor 41Nm 28A 15mph/25kph
28A controller/immediate start
Throttle twist grip
8Ah NiMH battery 15 miles per charge on power alone / 5Ah
NiCd battery 10 miles per charge on power alone
Fast charger 2.5hrs |
