BAS Groep Nijmegen realises 50% savings with Holmatro's brake disc press
Volvo trucks are fitted with brake discs instead of brake lining. Replacing brake discs is an intensive job and involves an enormous physical demand on mechanics. In order to separate brake discs quicker, safer and more ergonomically from the wheel hub, Holmatro developed a special brake disc press in collaboration with BAS Groep.
Up until now, mechanics lifted the hub from the axle by hand. The hub was moved to a press to press the brake disc from the hub using a pump truck. Because this workshop press had insufficient capacity, the brake disc often stayed fixed to the hub. If this happened, the mechanic would hit the disc with a hammer, until it sprang from the hub. This was an undesirable situation, so BAS Groep Nijmegen began looking for a solution.
Pressing brake discs quickly and safely from the hub by one mechanic, in half the time
"We first tried to make a press with accessories ourselves", says Niels van der Wielen, Service coordinator for BAS Groep. "However, we soon discovered that we needed certified equipment. The forces acting on the press were higher than initially estimated." BAS Groep contacted Holmatro, with the goal of developing a safe, time-saving and ergonomic press. Niels continues: "In the end we developed a brake disc press, driven by a 100-ton double-acting cylinder. Holmatro also looked at other activities in conjunction with the replacement of brake discs, so that the outcome was that the entire job could be done by just one mechanic, in half the time."
Lifting activities significantly reduced
Rob Loonen, Sales Engineer Holmatro: "Besides the brake disc press, we also developed a lifting table to remove the hub and the brake disc from the axles. The lifting table is mobile, height adjustable and includes a rotatable bearing construction which can be easily positioned on the axle over the wheel hub. Once the hub is secured, it can be moved on the lifting table to the brake disc press with no effort at all." The brake disc press has clamping blocks which can be mounted at three positions, so that 3 different brake disc outside diameters can be pressed. The brake disc remains fixed in the clamps, while the hub is pressed out of the disc by the 100 ton cylinder. With the brake disc remaining in the clamps, the hub hangs onto the rotatable bearing construction on the lifting table for cleaning. After chipping it clean, the new brake disc can be placed and the entire unit can be simply driven back to the truck's axle.
Mechanics of BAS Groep Nijmegen react enthusiastically to the new press: "Less lifting activities and in the end a lot safer".
For more information about this project, please contact Holmatro.