Electric Tow Tractor (Tugger)

Overview

An electric tow tractor, or tugger, is a small driven vehicle that pulls a train of wheeled carts around a plant or warehouse. Instead of moving one pallet at a time with a forklift, a tugger hitches several loaded carts behind it and runs a milk-run route between stations, which is why lean operations favour them for line-side delivery. The machine described here is operator-driven, pulls up to five tonnes of drawbar load, and runs a shift on a Li-ion charge topped up overnight from its own onboard charger.

The vehicle sits on a welded Chassis & Body clad in molded panels, with a ballast counterweight that loads the drive wheel for grip. A single front Traction Unit supplies all the tractive effort, the Battery Pack feeds the drive, and a Tow Coupler at the rear latches the cart train.

How it works

The Traction Unit is the driveline: an AC induction Traction Motor turns the front wheel through a two-stage Reduction Gearbox, a robust arrangement that handles the constant start-stop duty of route work. The Traction Controller is an IGBT inverter that closes the torque and speed loops on the motor from the operator's throttle and brake input, and the same motor provides regenerative service braking; a spring-applied Park Brake in the Brake System holds the train on a grade when power is off.

Steering is by wire: the Steering System swings the whole drive corner under tiller command through a worm reduction, with an angle sensor closing the loop. The operator drives from the Operator Station, standing on a sprung platform or seated, working the throttle and direction switch on the Steering Tiller and watching speed and charge on a color Operator Display; a presence switch enables drive only with the operator aboard.

Energy comes from a Li-ion Battery Pack whose BMS Board balances the cells in a ballasted tray, recharged by the built-in Onboard Charger. LED head and tail lamps plus a projected blue spot warning light in the Lights & Signals keep the tugger visible in busy aisles.