Alcon Components Ltd, the acclaimed global specialist brake and clutch company, has declared their new bespoke armoured vehicle brake caliper ‘production ready’ at Eurosatory in Paris this week. First unveiled to the European and wider global markets at the DSEi exhibition, London in September 2017, and then to the US market at AUSA in October 2017, the new CIR55 caliper has been designed and developed to fit 8×8 type military vehicles operating at 30-40+ tonne GVM. Since its launch, the caliper has successfully undergone an extensive testing and validation process to meet all of the requirements to enter production. The CIR55 significantly increases braking performance and reduces both weight and cost in comparison to existing alternatives.
Intended as a direct alternative to the current defense industry standard twin-caliper arrangement, the production ready CIR55 brake caliper features a custom designed eight-piston, four-pad configuration with an option for either 60mm or 64mm diameter pistons. The caliper can be used on disc diameters of 400mm to 410mm and the centre split design allows caliper variants to be available for a variety of disc thicknesses. The fully hanging, high friction pads are fitted with an anti-rattle system and the caliper and seals are protected to cope with the harsh military environment.
Alcon expects the caliper to be used in a single-fit per wheel station configuration with a total of 8 calipers in use on a typical 8×8 armoured vehicle. It is also expected that the CIR55 could be used on heavy 6×6 and 4×4 military vehicles, where appropriate. The immediate benefits on offer are a weight reduction in the region of 50kg per vehicle, a cost reduction and improved cooling. The specific performance benefits when directly compared to the current market leading single-fit caliper solutions are: 11.5% larger piston area; 34% more pad area; 33% additional torque capacity; and all delivered with a 7% weight saving. The smaller swept profile of the CIR55 also means it can be fitted into a tighter space envelope.
The brake was developed in cooperation with AxleTech, whose extensive experience in the design, manufacturing and application of military products, contributed to an optimal design. The brake is being offered as part of AxleTech`s brake portfolio under the Hydraulic Disc Brake family HD860 series.
Visitors to the Eurosatory exhibition will be able to view the Alcon CIR55/AxleTech HD860 brake among AxleTech’s products on stand B648 in the USA Pavilion, taking place in Paris, 11-15 June 2018. In addition, there are Alcon brakes fitted to over 10 vehicles or other applications being exhibited across the event. Alcon staff will be in attendance and will be available for meetings and interviews, on appointment.
Already firmly established in the light to medium military vehicle marketplace, Alcon braking solutions have been sought out by some of the world’s finest Special Forces vehicle manufacturers. Amongst other key defence players, Supacat, the designers of the Jackal vehicle, BAe, Ricardo and Jankel have turned to Alcon to obtain bespoke, tailored braking systems that fully meet the demanding requirements of the challenging, high-performance, modern-day battlefield. The development of the CIR55 is a step-change in Alcon’s strategy and will see them move up into the heavy end of the military vehicle market.
Jonathan Edwards, Sales Director at Alcon said: “this announcement is a key step for Alcon and our partners, AxleTech. We can now offer the global defence market state of the art, production ready braking solutions for heavy 8×8 type platforms, saving weight and improving performance. We can also manufacture on-shore in UK and off-shore elsewhere to solve ‘local content’ procurement requirements faced by many OEMs”. He added: “our defence expansion plans are progressing exceedingly well and we’re now working with a total of 18 defence and security equipment OEM’s who are fitting our braking systems for evaluation, having come to us to solve their specific braking issues”.