Unitised aluminium hubs are now available for Hendrickson’s Airtek integrated front axle and air suspension. In what is said to be an industry first, Hendrickson’s Airtek is combined with a lightweight, maintenance-free unitised aluminum hub manufactured by ConMet, which is to improve on the system’s already light weight and low maintenance properties. ‘Airtek represents state-of-the-art suspension and axle design that reduces operating costs for truck owners,’ claims Sean Coleman, marketing manager for Hendrickson truck suspension systems. ‘The availability of unitised hubs with Airtek results in additional maintenance savings, he claims.
Regular lubrication intervals are not required with Airtek’s heavy duty rubber suspension bushings and the unitised hubs. Hendrickson’s two-piece knuckle assembly, unique to the Steertek axle, eliminates the need to remove the kingpin to service the steering knuckle. Maintenance and downtime is further reduced by eliminating the need for wheel end bearing adjustment.
Introduction of the ConMet hub is the first time a unitised aluminum hub has been made available for front axle use in North America. Proven with extensive laboratory fatigue and vehicle durability testing, Hendrickson and ConMet designed, tested and approved the hub system specifically for the demanding requirements of long haul on-highway applications.
Improvements with Airtek of at least 11% in ride and 30% in roll stability can be expected when compared to traditional steel spring suspensions, Hendrickson claims, and also that Airtek saves 90lb (40kg) or more in comparison to steel spring suspensions with I-beam axles.
Airtek is currently available on the Freightliner Century Class, Columbia, and Coronado, and Western Star set back axle truck models.
