trailer world Issue Two 2012

Issue Two 2012 27 method used successfully in GRP drive shafts for wind turbines or also in cardan shafts on the automotive sector. Composite braiding with T-Igel The “smart connection” between plastic and steel comes from a BPW partner in Austria. Teufelberger is a company now run in the sixth generation that has specialised in steel wire rope technology since the 18th century. Today the company has a Composite Divi- sion that is devoted to precisely this particu- lar problem. The key to the permanent mar- riage between the two materials is called “T-Igel” (literally T-hedgehog). It consists of a metal base body reinforced with steel pins, with the composite fibres braided directly around it. This special procedure - not un- like a hedgehog in clay dough - results in an intimate connection between fibre and steel that fulfils the highest demands in terms of force absorption. One essential factor in warranting the best possible stability con- sists in the lack of fibre damage or removal. The fully form fit connection formed around the small steel pins by the compos- ite, whether glass-fibre, carbon or mixed fi- bres, plays a key role in force transmission. Produced in the cold metal transfer welding process practised by Teufelberger’s neigh- bouring company Fronius in Wels/Austria, the pins can be placed on material of thick- nesses down to just 1 millimetre, permitting a broad range of possible applications. “The T-Igel offers optimum strength val- ues with gravitational force of 300 to 1,200 Neuton metres per pin”, explains Herwig Kirchberger, Head of the Composite Divi- sion. The Teufelberger expert is sure that the T-Igel developed just four years ago is facing a great future. After all, the durable connec- tion between knuckle and axle body creat- ed by the T-Igel is not just restricted to the chassis of a truck trailer. Current develop- ment projects include a high-tech prosthesis for use as an artificial human leg. High-tech gets moving Following its ex- citing premiere at the IAA Commercial Ve- hicles, next year the market’s most innova- tive trailer axle will go through practical trials in field tests with BPW customers. The intention is to incorporate the ECO Vision in series production of BPW’s disc-braked 9-tonne axle by 2016. The developmentofthe new GRP axle also gives BPW all the trumps for future projects as well. The know-how ac- quired in terms of processing the light- weight, robust material opens up possibili- ties for numerous other chassis applications. These extend from shock absorbers, spring elements and wheel suspensions through to integrating air tanks in the axle beams. In other words, a technological future that brings together various elements that in the end are perfectly matched. (owi) For more information about Teufelberger, go to www.teufelberger.com. A film about BPW ECO Vision is available on www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t57oBaHTR8 High-tech beauty with future prospects: BPW’s IAA sensation ECO Vision is to go into series production with the disc-braked 9-tonne axle by 2016. EcoVision

trailer world Issue Two 2012

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