Schaeffler sharpens focus on commercial vehicle industry

Component supplier Schaeffler, which works with the passenger vehicle sector and also has efficient and sustainable solutions for engines, transmission, and chassis for commercial vehicles, is sharpening its focus on the CV industry.

“As a mobility supplier with a global presence, Schaeffler is also the ideal partner for the commercial vehicle sector when it comes to the mobility of tomorrow. A total of 6,700 developers in 17 R&D centres worldwide are also working on cost-effective, low-emission, quiet commercial vehicles of the future,” says Prof. Peter Pleus, CEO Automotive at Schaeffler. “The company is well-positioned here due to its innovative strength, systems expertise and proximity to its customers,” adds Pleus.

With cross-sector development work of its Industrial and Automotive divisions, Schaeffler is able to bring together expertise from different specialist fields. The combustion engine, transmission and electrical components are all taken into consideration together. The company says the increasing requirements to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption globally are always in mind, while it also considers the different demands for customised drive solutions around the world.

Therefore, the gross profit of a vehicle rather than the total cost of ownership (TCO) is the key consideration of the future. The best possible logistics solutions come into play here, as does minimising service and maintenance times.

To achieve this, Schaeffler has developed the ‘FAG SmartSET’, a ready-to-install wheel bearing repair solution for heavy goods vehicles. This saves two hours of labour per axle and prevents assembly errors, which have a negative impact on the lifespan.

“Commercial vehicles are the trendsetters for many technologies,” says Thomas Grimm, vice-president (Product Management Heavy Duty) at Schaeffler. “The emission limits are much stricter than for the passenger car. Fuel consumption is also an important cost factor. From a legislative point of view, there is a global trend towards ever stricter emission regulations. Noise emissions will be at the forefront in the future,” explains Grimm.

Here Schaeffler considers the new torsional vibration dampers between the engine and transmission, which not only reduce noise and ensure a longer lifespan for the components, to be the way forward. The part, which is fitted with a centrifugal pendulum, also enables the rpm level to be lowered, which therefore reduces consumption. The engine speed can be reduced in this way for ‘platooning’, i.e. the automated driving of trucks closely following one another. This in turn both minimises consumption and lowers emissions.

Electronics is also finding its way into mechanical components such as wheel bearings. Sensors on all the wheels not only report the condition of a component but they could also register the weight load and thus assist in the optimal loading of a semi-trailer in future.