A guide to specifying the right winch drive

The variety of winch and hoist designs is vast and the number of applications almost too numerous to count. However there are some common features and design attributes that can be applied to almost every winch design. Martin Terjesen offers some advice on how to specify the correct winch drive    One of the most common requirements for a winch or hoist is that it must operate from within a restricted footprint. This leads to two initial design requirements; a compact frame and an energy efficient powertrain that will allow a smaller power source to be installed. These must be designed and manufactured in such a way that they also deliver reliability, which is the product of a number of variables including the raw materials, design expertise and manufacturing capabilities.