trailer world Issue Two 2012

34 Issue Two 2012 Photos:RichardKienberger Clear Structures Vehicle manufacturer Willig, based in Straubing, Germany, was founded in 1970 by Kurt Willig Sr. The company special- ises in manufacturing tankers and tanker bodies and still describes itself today as a medium-sized family business. Over the course of time, Willig established several production and service branches to meet the increasing order volume. The company currently has around 200 employees at its various locations. Since 2009, Andreas Gillner has been sole Managing Director of Kurt Willig GmbH & Co. KG in Straubing. Willig and BPW have teamed up in a long-term, in-depth partnership. Since Willig equips more than 95 percent of its vehicles with BPW axles, the carbon fibre cross beams were developed and tested using running gear from BPW. During this stage, Willig’s design and engineering crew and the BPW experts in Wiehl maintained an ongoing exchange of expertise and experience. offset the higher price with an attractive re- turn on investment for the customer. The ideal partner was found almost right next door: carbon specialist Becker, a com- pany located just 33 kilometres away. The cooperation with the company, an expert in developing and producing carbon fibre components for special, high load applica- tions, finally succeeded in moulding axle cross beams made from the high-tech mate- rial, which reduce the weight of a customary tri-axle semi-trailer by the 200 kilos men- tioned earlier. Positive Locking as Optimal Solution Just like the developers of the BPW ECO Vision GFRP axle, the Willig engineers first had to figure out how to join the plas- tic cross beam with the metallic compo- nents of the axle in order to be able to use the new carbon fibre struts. This joint was one of the core issues of the development work: the shape of the components had to be designed in a way that ensured optimal absorption of the loads occurring in the running gear. The optimal solution was found by weld- ing connecting plates, establishing a posi- tive locking connection with the carbon fibre cross beams onto the axle support blocks. Since minimal tolerances are un- avoidable during production, a special resin that ensures a seamless connection is applied to the joints at the carbon fibre components prior to mounting. The addi- tional screws only function as support and safety devices and do not absorb any loads. Computer-aided Development, Manual Production The new component was com- pletely developed at the drawing board – and the first try “just hit home,” Robert Kle- bensberger remarks with some pride. Ulti- mately, the required know-how for design- ing the patented cross beams comes from the aerospace industry. At Becker, the en- gineers know exactly what type of carbon fibre sheets, which fibre thicknesses and strengths, and what shapes are needed for the intended purpose. The fabric’s structure is designed to completely absorb the loads occurring in the running gear. The mate- rial’s advantage: a high degree of stiffness at an extremely low weight. Previously used conventional metal cross beams are sub- ject to S-shaped bending along their width, while the new component “does not move by an μ, even under extreme loads,” explains Technical Manager Klebensberger. Due to the specifications, the struts, dubbed BC+ by Willig, have to be handmade to a large extent. The RTM Light method, which was developed for large-scale produc- Up until the ready for production stage, the suspension arms were developed entirely on the computer. Portrait Robert Klebensberger (left) with his colleagues Christian Zankl (centre) and Lorant Mannherz (right).

trailer world Issue Two 2012

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