Hydro-Gear, a provider of hydrostatic lawn and garden transmissions, has announced its intention to integrate Fallbrook Technologies Inc.’s (Fallbrook) NuVinci continuously variable planetary (CVP) technology into its product line.
Full production is projected to commence in early 2013, and will be the first commercial use of Fallbrook's award-winning NuVinci CVP technology in an infinitely variable transmission (IVT) application. The development program has resulted in a successful demonstration of a pre-production prototype passing functional and durability testing.
“We took Fallbrook’s technology through a rigorous set of functional and durability tests, and were impressed with the results,” says Ray Hauser, president of Hydro-Gear. “The NuVinci IVP/CVP system directly supports our long term strategy of developing engineered solutions and delivering innovation to the outdoor power equipment market. We are confident that we’ve selected the best technology partner to do that.”
An IVT is a type of continuously variable transmission that includes forward, reverse and zero output speeds all within its range of ratios of input to output speeds. For applications such as lawn and garden equipment, an IVT is a good choice because the mower must be able to move quickly in both forward and backward directions without manual shifting. The NuVinci CVP technology provides a mechanical IVT that is quieter and uses dramatically fewer parts than other mechanical IVT designs.
“Other companies have tried to leverage mechanical IVTs in similar applications, but without success. That’s because traditional systems have been expensive, complex and noisy,” says William G. Klehm, Chairman and CEO of Fallbrook Technologies. “The NuVinci CVP system fully addresses these issues by being far more durable and scalable as well as less complex and costly to manufacture. We firmly believe our technology is a game changer in the lawn and garden as well as other industrial markets.”
