Kögel of Germany will be presenting its brand new trailer axle at the 2014 IAA Commercial Vehicles. The company will be viewing the show as a so-called ‘product clinic’, integrating customer feedback and expert opinion in the final step of product development. Perfectly co-ordinated high-quality components such as the wishbone, axle tube, wheel end, rubber bearing bush, axle support, shock absorbers, air suspension bellows and brake ensure optimum handling and maintenance properties.
In the future, this integrated chassis system will form the new strong backbone of Kögel’s vehicles, since it is ideally matched to Kögel trailers and further improves their handling. This not only increases the payload of Kögel trailers, but also extends their service life due to higher levels of engineering expertise. Moreover, the ease of maintenance of the axle goes hand in hand with higher cost-efficiency.
The Kögel trailer axle features a sophisticated concept. The form-locked connection of the brake caliper bracket and wishbone provides intelligent braking force transfer via the wishbone directly into the chassis, without the usual detour via the axle tube.
The shapes of the axle support, the wishbone and the axle tube are matched to the dynamic and static forces encountered in driving and in bench tests and are in accordance with the latest finite element methods. To facilitate easy repair, the wishbone and the axle tube can be replaced separately.
Whilst the wishbone hails from the tried and tested Kögel welding works in Chocen, the axle tubes are forged in one piece without the need for any joints. This provides a stress-free transfer of forces and ensures reliable protection against breakages.
The newly developed and pressed-in three-dimensional rubber bearing bush with its sophisticated kidney shape is perfectly designed to handle every direction of force.
The air suspension bellows and the shock absorber are ideally tailored to the Kögel axle. The system used as wheel end has been put through its paces and has proven itself on the marketplace. The result is a reliable and rugged wheel end. The brake is a recognised system on the marketplace. Changing the brake linings is childsplay, without the need for special tools. The brake discs are easy to change by simply pulling off the wheel end – the bearing settings are not lost. The friction interface between the brake disc and the brake linings is perfectly matched and therefore guarantees the maximum possible service life. The individually positioned taper rollers in the hub system are DIN-ISO components that are available worldwide, which can be replaced individually, as can the sealing elements.
The result: The Kögel axle is a maintenance-friendly, directionally stable and reliable axle assembly. It protects the whole semi-trailer combination and meets the stringent requirements of fleets and freight forwarders in the total cost of ownership aspect. In addition, the Kögel axle contributes to the lowering of life cycle costs.
“We have listened to our customers. In the new Kögel trailer axle we have added the know-how of well-known suppliers to our in-house expertise. In addition, we involve our customers in the product development process,” says Thomas Eschey, Managing Director of Production and Technology at Kögel. “Taking these measures, we ensure the highest state-of-the-art quality. By the way, we use IAA as a product clinic – we present our new axle concept and get feedback from our customers. We then take their experience into account in refining our axle. This is client-orientation in its purest sense.”