Changing for the Long Haul

Long-haul trucks drive about 110,000 miles a year in the U.S., where roughly 1.7 million tractor-trailer trucks consume about 26 billion gallons of diesel fuel.¹ According to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (Fort Wayne, IN), the average heavy-duty truck, including short-haul and work vehicles like dump trucks, gets only about 5.9 miles per gallon. “Getting one extra mile per gallon would be the same as removing over 200,000 trucks from the road,” notes Erica E. Phillips in the Wall Street Journal. “It would also save long-haul carriers billions of dollars.” To bump up fuel efficiency and address emission concerns, truck manufacturers are rethinking everything from engine design to the shape of the trailer. Some want to ditch the combustion engine entirely, while others bet on squeezing fuel savings from diesel trucks.¹

“Some carriers have already found ways to save on fuel and average over 7 mpg using current technology,” says Phillips. “They have added “skirts” around the base of the tractor and trailer and winglike “tails” on the trailer back improve aerodynamics. Others have opted for smaller engines and automatic transmissions that deliver up to 5 percent better fuel economy, hubcap covers and door seals that cut down on wind resistance and improve fuel efficiency up to 8 percent, or technologies that switch to electric power for the lights, climate system and other functions when the engine is idling.” ¹ However, some of these are barriers to weight reduction in a heavy truck fleet.² “For example, automatic manual transmissions weigh up to 500 lb more than a manual transmission,” explains Andrew Halonen in OEM Off-Highway. “Diesel emission regulations have added hundreds of pounds of equipment to the primary engine, and up to 260 lb to trailer refrigeration units. To save fuel, an auxiliary power unit that weighs 400-500 lb heats and cools the cabin in lieu of running the main engine and, in some states, these are mandatory.” ²

References

1. “Makers of Fuel-Guzzling Big Rigs Try to Go Green,” Erica E. Phillips and Bob Tita, The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2017. Retrieved from www.wsj.com.
2. “Lightweight Materials for Heavy Trucks,” Andrew Halonen, OEM Off-Highway, January 28, 2016. Retrieved from www.oemoffhighway.com.

The long-haul industry is changing: as more efficient engines and powertrain technology are designed for trucks, as more lightweight materials are used in the cab and trailer, machine shops that supply parts and assemblies to this industry see all of these changes as big opportunities to grow their business. Here are some of the latest machine tools and controls that can save them more time and labor as they process new and expensive materials to make complex parts quicker and more accurately:

Gantry Loaded Turning Center Reduces Cycle Times
The high performance PUMA TW 2600/M-GL two-spindle turning center from Doosan is ideal for production job shops and high volume parts manufacturers that want the output of two machining centers in a smaller footprint with considerably less capital investment.

Machining Highly Complex Powertrain Gears
Ideal for dry machining gears up to 500 mm diameter, the compact, modular Profilator S-500 vertical single-spindle pick-up gear cutting system from GMTA is built with components designed for especially high static stiffness and optimal dynamic behavior.

Fast, Reliable Production of Automotive Die Cast Parts
The a40 horizontal machining center from Makino not only reduces per-piece cost, it also achieves savings that affect capital investment, labor, floor space, utility consumption and durable tooling.

Portal-Style 5-Axis Milling of High Precision Automotive Parts
Ideal for mold makers and automotive manufacturers, the flexible Mecof Umill 1800 from EMCO Maier can work as a milling machine or a multitasking system for high precision milling and turning operations.

High Precision Internal Diameter Grinding of Powertrain Components and More
The Landis-Bryant UL2 from Fives Landis is ideal for high speed, high precision grinding of bores, faces and contours of bearing rings, valve lifters, gears, universal joint cups and CVJ components, and especially suitable for machining parts with an external diameter up to 177 mm.

Deep Hole Drilling of Diesel Engine Components, Transmission Shafts and More
To increase the manufacturing capacity of diesel engines, the compact UNE 12-2 gundrilling system from UNISIG easily installs in existing CNC machining cells and uses real-time process monitoring of thrust power, coolant pressure and more to create ideal temperatures on the cutting surface and eliminate thermal damage to parts.

Flexible, Expandable CNC for Machining Automotive Parts
Ideal for turning centers, machining centers, lathes and mills, the M80W CNC from Mitsubishi Electric Automation features a 19 in touch screen display separate from the control unit and a dedicated CPU for improved cycles times, faster program processing, and more accurate machining.

Automated 5-Axis Vertical Machining of Automotive Components and More
Equipped with 90 tools and a Universal Robot Interface to maximize automation, the four-pallet MX-520 PC4 5-axis vertical machining center from Matsuura Machinery maintains high rigidity with a generous machining envelope and an assortment of configurations that are ideal for all applications and materials.

Horizontal Machining of Transmission Cases and Very Large Parts
Equipped with a pallet changer with a maximum load of 750 kg, the HF 5500 5-axis horizontal machining center from Heller Machine Tools performs dynamic 5-sided and simultaneous 5-axis machining of parts in a work envelope of 900 mm x 950 mm x 900 mm.

High Machining Accuracy, Exceptional Surfaces Finishes on Heavy Loads
The Feeler U-800 5-axis gantry-style machining center from Methods Machine Tools has an advanced U-shaped base and column that increase structural rigidity and allow easy loading and unloading of large parts.

Mill/Turn Center for Complete Machining of Complex Parts
With a capacity of 38 tools, the Quicktech T8 Hybrid 9-axis twin spindle mill/turn center from Absolute Machine Tools combines a 3-axis power turret and a 360 deg B-axis with a sub-spindle that features a 4-axis gang slide to enable complete machining of complex parts.

Cut Machining Time on Aluminum Parts in Half
The versatile DZ08 FX Precision+ from CHIRON America uses contact-free linear direct drives in the X/Y/Z axes to bring the spindles to optimum feed rates faster and permit increased traverse rates so that aluminum parts can be machined up to 50 percent faster.

Unattended Die Sinking EDM Machines Ratchet up Efficiency
Eliminating the need for an operator to adjust the generator’s parameters, a TECFORM module ensures that the FORM P 350 die sinking EDM machine from GF Machining Solutions continuously optimizes each pulse to significantly reduce electrode wear or obtain the finest finishes on parts.