GKN Wheels & Structures recently held an open day at its site in Woodridge, Illinois, during which visitors witnessed demonstrations of a new, state-of-the-art, hub test stand.
Aaron Dahl, GKN’s chief engineer, America, commented, “Visitors to the site were given demonstrations of each of the test machines in operation, including cornering and radial fatigue wheel testing equipment. This included cornering tests of both agricultural implement and construction wheels, showcasing the company’s unique ability to carry out bolted joint analysis as well as other strain gauge simulation testing. Drum tests were also running throughout the day on both agricultural and construction wheels.”
The new hub test stand, which can apply loads up to 100,000 lb, was operating with the company’s largest capacity hub, demonstrating dynamic cornering fatigue testing of the hub and spindle assembly. With GKN controlling the test load, spindle length, and test speed to replicate the maximum bearing loads of the system under the most extreme conditions, high-capacity agricultural and construction hubs can now be tested at the Woodridge facility, virtually eliminating the need for expensive and time-consuming field testing.
June 5, 2017
