DAF shaves 500kg from 12-tonner’s kerb weight

By Categories: NewsPublished On: Tuesday 16 June 2015

news_bDAF has added half a tonne of payload to its factory-bodied 12-tonne GVW LF truck, with the extensive use of aluminum chassis parts in place of steel.

Dubbed the FTCC, the concept truck uses aluminium extrusions developed for the project by Sapa Profiles UK, and was funded by the British government’s Innovate UK programme.

Validation of the designs was carried out with the assistance of CSA Group. The objective was to carry an increased payload while reducing fuel consumption.

Chassis side and cross members, suspension components, the body floor and the front underrun protection are all made from aluminium in place of steel.

news_cThe front underrun protection is mounted on a newly designed and patented front frame module. This module is smartly attached to the side members, as these do not extend to the very front of the vehicle, allowing optimal packaging.

Another patented innovation is the integration of the body floor structure in the chassis frame design, by incorporating the body sub-frame into the main chassis side members.

Sapa Profiles is a leading designer and suppler of aluminium extrusions. It employs 350 people at UK locations in Cheltenham, Redditch and Tibshelf.

While aluminium has a similar strength-to-weight ratio to steel, its lower density means that larger and more complex shapes with greater load-bearing capability can be formed from a lighter mass of metal.

news_dThe FTCC chassis incorporates components formed from perforated I-section beams, for example, which are a perfect illustration of how the qualities of aluminium can be used to advantage in a weight-saving structure.

In addition to the many weight-saving measures, the project includes other advanced features such as independent front air-suspension with rack and pinion steering, to investigate their benefits in terms of ride quality, steering precision and vehicle packaging improvements.

Project leader, Leyland Trucks’ senior engineer, Rob Lawton, said: “‘Light weighting’ is at the heart of our global efforts to reduce fuel consumption and thus emissions.

“Increasing payload without loss of vehicle integrity is fundamental to that process. Our FTCC project has achieved our objectives: a 30 per cent weight-saving focused on the components used in the main truck chassis-frame, body under structure, front suspension and steering.”

The FTCC will be displayed at a variety of international events, including Cenex LCV at Millbrook in September.

DAF cautions that the FTCC is primarily a study model, which will not be on the market on short notice. However, it demonstrates innovations which might be considered for the future if they are financially as well technically feasible.

To a certain extent, it’s back to the future for Leyland Trucks, which built the last production trucks to use some aluminum chassis components: Foden!