What is a slew or slewing drive?
A slew (slewing) drive is a very sophisticated piece of machinery similar to a transaxle or differential in a rear wheel drive car. The big difference is the ability to turn at different speeds on two separate axis. And that is what makes it perfect for a a dual axis solar tracker. It can move east to west over 12 hours and return to start at a very controlled speed. Simultaneously the solar tracker can track the azimuth at an extremely low speed. All, when equipped with good electronic controls at extreme accuracy.
Great! Why do we use these on our Suntracker do it yourself products? Our dual axis sun tracker solar trackers are designed for the DIY community to install inexpensively and without heavy equipment. And, our patented technology is extremely accurate with much faster on demand response times.
UPDATE 1/1/2025 With our partners we have developed a slew drive light enough to be DIY installed on our trackers for 8 panels and up. New technology and new lightweight metals have made this possible. We are excited to make these new products available as of today!