Product category:
Gears, brakes, couplings and engines
News Release from: Freudenberg Simrit LP | Subject: Suspension components
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 26 November 2003
Holistic approach to suspension
development
The transmission paths for vibrations and structure-borne noise in agricultural equipment are highly complex, and so suspension design must take a holistic approach.
A combination of legislation and customer demand for increased comfort have led to a continual process of improvement to the performance of suspension systems for agricultural machinery As development times are reduced and the pressure to keep costs to a minimum increases, partner-like co-operation with suppliers is essential
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 24 Aug 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Such suppliers not only need an in-depth knowledge of components and materials, they must also be able to offer system expertise at the earliest possible stage of development.
Simrit provides agricultural machinery manufacturers with more than just a complete range of components for the minimisation of vibration and noise pollution.
With its Technical Development Centre, Simrit has the technological basis, simulation and test equipment and comprehensive expertise needed to view the system as a whole.
The transmission paths for vibrations and structure-borne noise in heavy machinery such as combine harvesters, forage harvesters or tractors are highly complex.
The sources of vibration in the vehicle itself and the actual excitation caused by moving tools are many and varied.
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Complete piston cuts down on parts
According to Freudenberg, the pneumatic complete piston Pneuko M sets new standards in terms of durability and frictional behaviour.
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Freudenberg has succeeded in developing a Simmerring for industrial applications which combines the properties of both PTFE and elastomer materials.
To considerably reduce the sound pressure level in the driver's cab and to significantly increase drive comfort, it is vital that the entire vehicle is taken into account and fine-tuned as a whole.
This holistic approach involves transferring the vehicle's vibration control requirements and dynamics of vehicle movement to specially adapted components in all subsystems.
In order to view the entire vehicle as a whole, it is essential that suitable test equipment, rigs and simulation tools are used.
Calculations and simulations allow predictions about defined system properties in the entire system to be made at a very early stage of development.
Once these predications have been made, all the parameters and functional properties of optimised vibration control solutions are calculated.
A sample of a subsystem that has been defined in this way - for example chassis suspension or cabin mounts - is then manufactured and its properties are verified in tests.
This means that the influence of vibration control components can be specified at a very early stage of development.
Simrit is a development partner and has steadily built up its knowledge of components and materials down through the years.
It now boasts comprehensive system expertise in the field of sealing and vibration control technology.
Simrit not only provides the manufacturers of agricultural machinery with a complete range of vibration control products and hydropneumatic suspension systems, it also puts the company's research and development competence, which has been gathered in the Technical Development Centre down through the years, at its customers' disposal.
With the help of mobile and stationary measurement technology, data about the condition of the machine can be registered anywhere and at any time.
In other words, tests are not restricted to test rigs; they can also be conducted in the field.
Special tools are then used to analyse weak points.
This means that the potential for optimisation can quickly be identified.
In short, this holistic approach to system development involves the experimental analysis of the entire vehicle and the presentation of suitable mounting and suspension systems that allow various comfort levels to be achieved.
These comfort levels are available in different price ranges and with different technical features.
This allows customers to choose exactly the right solution for their needs.
It also means that the manufacturers of agricultural machinery have the opportunity not only to dramatically reduce development times and optimise comfort by reducing noise pollution and vibrations, but also to ensure better machine handling and sustainably extend the service life of the machines.
Simrit's holistic development approach does more than just cut development times, the production of samples according to the module system is so rapid that test drives are possible shortly after the optimisation proposals have been made.
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