Premier Pits aids safer servicing with BrakeMate
Premier Pits is the UK’s official supplier of BrakeMate, an elevated service platform for working on heavy vehicle disc brake assemblies. It removes all manual lifting of the caliper and hub, making the process safer for technicians, as well as significantly reducing the time required for brake disc maintenance.
“BrakeMate is made in Melbourne Australia by Tulip Corp, who have been producing engineering products for 75 years,” said Premier Pits.
“BrakeMate saves one hour in the time it takes to change a single disc. It also allows a single user to do the whole job, instead of needing two people. This means other tasks can be done more quickly, leading to further time savings.
“The brake disc assembly on heavy commercial vehicles, buses and coaches can weigh as much as 70kg, much more than the 25kg limit suggested by HSE. Lifting such weights can often cause injuries that are not only painful for the worker but also costly for employers through lost time and compensation claims that can vary from £10,000 to £30,000.”
The system consists of two trolley based work platforms, explains the firm.
“First, using the adjustable clamp mechanism, the calliper, which can weigh up to 30kg, is easily taken off and stored on the platform for later reassembly. The clamp can be used on callipers located in the 3, 9 and 12 o’clock positions and an adaptor is also provided for callipers in the 6 o’clock position.
“After the calliper is taken off, the disc/hub trolley is moved into place and attached to the studs. Adapter plates enable connection with common 8 and 10 stub patterns. A manual hydraulic ram detaches the hub assembly from the vehicle which lets the user feel the force being used.
“Once removed, the two trolleys are then joined together to make a finished workstation to separate the disc from the hub. The old disc is rolled onto the built-in rotor rack which is turned 180 degrees to let the new disc be moved into place. The process of removal is reversed and the unit is easily, safely and correctly installed on the vehicle.”
