Bent axis and in-line axial piston motors are both high performance designs featuring high efficiency at high operating pressures. But which is best? To answer this question, a comparison of relative performance advantages is required.
Bent axis designs can be ‘bent’ to angle of up to about 40°. Whereas the swash plate angle on an in-line design is typically limited to less than 20°. This means the maximum to minimum displacement range or stroke ratio of a variable-displacement bent axis motor is around twice that of an in-line design. This gives a variable bent axis motor a wider operating torque/speed range than an in-line motor of the same displacement (remember, increasing motor displacement increases output torque and reduces output speed; and vice versa).… continue reading »