trailer world Issue Two 2012

Issue Two 2012 25 Photos:FormatIndustrialDesignGermanyGmbH BPW’s future is aubergine-coloured. This was the subtle, smart colour of the high-tech vehicles used to present one of the key new developments at the IAA, the world’s largest commercial ve- hicle show in Hanover. BPW is the first axle manufacturer on the commercial vehicle sector to take the innovative step towards new materials. The premium manufacturer based in Wiehl has opted for an elegantly shaped axle body consisting of glass-fibre re- inforced plastic materials (GRP) instead of the characteristic square steel section, heralding a new era in trailer axle construction. In fact, it’s not the material itself that is new but the combi- nation of all parts – steel and GRP. In the past, glass-fibre re- inforced plastics were used primarily where weight and shaping count. The stable composite is ideal for precisely customising the huge rotor blades of wind turbines or for making yacht hulls and aircraft fuselages. Parts can be tailor-made depending on the thickness of the fibre layer and on the alignment in the fabric composite. Hitherto, applications in commercial vehicles includ- ed roof spoilers, high-roof superstructures and side skirts. Up to now, the material made of silicon fibres had not been faced with any load-bearing functions as in BPW’s new GRP axle. The only role played in this respect by the highly elastic, break-resistant material was as a leaf spring in the Mercedes Sprinter, and also on an experi- mental basis in the heavy MAN TGX. Twenty percent less unsprung mass As in the known applica- tions, GRP composite plastic now also comes up trumps as axle body. Dr. Martin Fleischhauer, father of the new design for the high-tech axle developed at BPW’s plastic subsidiary HBN-Teknik in Denmark, promises savings of around 80 kilos. In the tridem axle system of a tanker or silo trailer, this amounts to weight savings of 240 kilos that can be used directly for the payload - with 20% weight optimisation! Customer surveys conducted by BPW have shown that there is definitely a corresponding market available among pay- load sensitive transport customers. “We expect sales potential of 3,000 to 5,000 units per year”, explains fibre composite expert Dr. Fleischhauer. Furthermore, the market would have no problem in swallowing the additional costs of less than ten Euros per saved kilo for the new lightweight axle technology. What’s more, as a material for axle suspensions, GRP has other at- tributes on offer in addition to its light weight. The fibres drawn from siliconecrystalsareimpregnatedwithepoxyresin,makingthemcorro- sion-resistant. The material ages only very slowly and withstands high mechanical loads. In addition, depending on fibre structure and pat- tern, it is possible to adjust the resilience of GRP elements so that they can – as mentioned – even be used as leaf springs. Combined with the necessary bending stiffness, this desirable torsion softness also plays an important role in BPW’s new axle. “This permits faster cor- Radical change from the classic axle tube to an intelligently shaped axle body. Thanks to the bend-proof yet torsion-soft material GRP, it is possible to create chassis components with a highly specific shape depending on the particular application. BPW’s new trailer axle “ECO Vision” combines light weight with extreme loading capability and long-term endurance. Truly revolutionary new develop- ments are rare occurrences in trailer engineering. The completely new de- sign of BPW’s “ECO Vision” axle with GRP body instead of the conventional square steel section opens up a new chapter in axle engineering by the technology pioneer. Innovation

trailer world Issue Two 2012

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