Knorr-Bremse TruckServices, Knorr-Bremse’s commercial vehicle aftermarket unit, is inviting visitors to a “Digital Experience” at Automechanika 2024 in Frankfurt am Main (September 10-14, 2024). The event will also showcase the company’s new brand identity. On show in Hall 3.0 will be multiple solutions for a future digitized aftermarket ecosystem, including in particular uprated partnership concepts for dealers and workshops, an optimized diagnostics solution, an ECU repair strategy, and a raft of new products, retrofit solutions and services.
Bernd Spies, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG with global responsibility for the Commercial Vehicle Systems division: “The transformation of the commercial vehicle industry is giving fleet operators plenty of opportunities to manage their vehicles even more efficiently and sustainably. The Knorr-Bremse TruckServices portfolio features optimized solutions for the entire value chain, covering the entire vehicle lifecycle. I’m very much looking forward to discussing them with our customers.”
Knorr-Bremse TruckServices celebrates new brand image
Sharing ideas with industry colleagues will be one of the main priorities of the Knorr-Bremse TruckServices aftermarket team at Automechanika. Knorr-Bremse is inviting customers from dealerships, workshops and fleet operations to visit the company’s 300-square-meter exhibition space (in Hall 3.0, at Booths E91 and G98). The new Knorr-Bremse TruckServices slogan combines the power of rapid, real-time support with innovative, forward-looking solutions: “Knorr-Bremse TruckServices Future Ready Aftermarket. Products & Services for Today. Solutions for Tomorrow”. Interested visitors can find out all they need to know about the full range of TruckServices products and services from the 40 or so Knorr-Bremse experts present at the booth.
Digital Experience: a tour of the ecosystem of the future
The Digital Experience will take visitors on an interactive tour of a digitized aftermarket ecosystem. As “virtual” fleet or workshop managers, they will be able to immerse themselves in specific aftermarket processes triggered by scheduled or unscheduled fleet repair or maintenance requirements. Knorr-Bremse TruckServices has already redefined its own role in today’s aftermarket, and in the future, believes its holistic ecosystem will enable the company to mediate along the entire value chain. Typical of this uprated approach is the new workshop booking system PleaseFix, which supports customers seeking to schedule, book and track repair or maintenance sessions. The resulting time savings will enable fleet managers to maximize vehicle uptime, whereas workshops will have an opportunity to further optimize their workflows and capacity utilization while expanding their customer base, thanks to streamlined access to new fleet customers. Another key feature is a workshop benchmarking system – to be presented in cooperation with Dutch company WESP – which will enable commercial vehicle workshops to identify opportunities for increasing turnover and improving process efficiency.
Expert Network: revised dealership and workshop concept
At Automechanika, Knorr-Bremse will also be presenting the revised Expert Network concept for dealers and workshops. Top priorities here include closer collaboration, a broader range of support and service offerings, and enhanced efficiency. The refined, community-minded partnership concept offers many benefits for the various customer segments. A standard prerequisite for membership is a quality assurance audit carried out by Knorr-Bremse TruckServices; the more successfully customers perform in the audit, the more benefits they will receive – and the more attractive those benefits will be.
Repair service for electronic control units (ECUs)
Knorr-Bremse and Cojali now jointly offer a pan-European repair service for electronic control units. The service is capable of repairing over 2,500 different types of ECUs for trucks and buses, as well as off-highway and agricultural vehicles. Customers who take advantage of the various repair options are essentially choosing an eco-friendly, economical solution that saves around 20% of the cost of buying a brand-new product – as well as a significant amount of electronic waste.
Introducing Knorr-Bremse Diagnostics
Knorr-Bremse Diagnostics is based on the user interface of Jaltest Diagnostics, the brand-independent commercial vehicle diagnostics suite developed by Cojali. The new software provides all-in-one diagnostics for Knorr-Bremse’s truck and trailer systems, and is the successor to two software packages: NEO for truck systems and ECUtalk® for trailer systems. For use with Cojali’s Jaltest Link hardware, Knorr-Bremse Diagnostics is based on a subscription model. It can be purchased either as a standalone solution for Knorr-Bremse systems only, or as a Knorr-Bremse add-on for the multi-brand diagnostics tool Jaltest Diagnostics, offering customers a comprehensive solution for troubleshooting multi-system scenarios. Workshop customers benefit from a unique depth of diagnostic capabilities during the repair process, because Knorr-Bremse – as an original OE supplier – has contributed its expertise to various diagnostic functions, as well as the accompanying guided repair instructions. The higher level of software integration (in the form of a single software package covering both trucks and trailers) can also speed up repair times. In addition, Knorr-Bremse Diagnostics includes another feature as standard: a diagnostics solution for iTEBS® X, Knorr-Bremse’s latest generation of trailer EBS, now in series production.
Smart service concept for the new iTEBS X electronic trailer braking system
With its electronic and pneumatic control options, the intelligent iTEBS X electronic trailer braking system improves safety, efficiency and comfort in vehicle operations. The range of functions in the new-generation product has been further refined, and the individual braking system components – including the parking and maneuvering valve, as well as the air suspension – are even more tightly networked and integrated. The iTEBS X system combines an electronic control unit, sensor technology and a pneumatic brake controller, as well as braking functions such as ABS and load-dependent braking, in a single, compact assembly, while retaining all the proven advantages of the Electronic Braking System for Trailers (TEBS). Another impressive feature of the iTEBS X is an exceptionally user-friendly pneumatic coupling design, as well as best-in-class harmonization with the tractor unit’s brake control system.
To provide the best possible connection between iTEBS X and the digital world, Knorr-Bremse and Cojali have also developed the new, cloud-based configuration platform OCT (Online Configuration Tool), now ready for market launch. Together with the smart service concept, OCT enables futureproof diagnostics, as well as compliance with the latest regulatory requirements applying to software update management systems (UNECE R156) and cybersecurity (UNECE R155).
Reduced-weight wheel end optimized for semi-trailer axle applications
Knorr-Bremse’s NG4 EVO Pro double-diaphragm cylinder for pneumatic disc brakes in trailers is a new addition to the Knorr-Bremse TruckServices portfolio. The highly synergistic combination of the NexTT® SyT7 brake with the sealed and fully crimped NG4 EVO PRO brake cylinders delivers enhanced braking force for parking operations, optimizing braking efficiency and improving the vehicle’s overall safety. The harmonized wheel end for demanding applications is already in successful operation in a fleet customer’s 9-ton semi-trailer application. The innovative design of the brake cylinders includes full crimping (service and parking side) and a fully sealed parking brake which effectively protects the internal components from external contaminants such as dust, dirt and moisture, further increasing the product’s reliability and durability.
Knorr-Bremse upgrades brake pads with Active Pad Release
Knorr-Bremse’s Active Pad Release (APR) system for pneumatic disc brakes is the technological successor to the well-established Active Caliper Release (ACR) system. Like ACR, the retrofittable APR solution reduces brake drag torque in commercial vehicles. This reduces the vehicle’s fuel consumption – hence also its carbon footprint – as well as wear and tear and particulate emissions from the brake pads. Initially, the Active Pad Release retrofit solution will be introduced for vehicles with previous-generation SN7 and ST7 brakes, then extended to cover other applications. The APR system actively separates the brake pads from the brake disc using a spring-powered system fitted directly to the brake pad. It is designed to ensure that the retrofitting process is both time and cost-efficient. In conjunction with the APR system, Knorr-Bremse also uses eco-friendly, copper-free brake pads which meet the company’s usual high quality standards and have recently been launched on the European aftermarket.
GSAT and the rotary vane compressor: repair-friendly service concepts
The Global Scalable Air Treatment (GSAT) technology platform is the outcome of development work on generations of Electronic Air Control (EAC) systems, and is expected to become available as a service solution for the aftermarket toward the end of 2024. Compatible with Knorr-Bremse Diagnostics, GSAT’s modular design means that components can simply be replaced when repairs are required. To make repairs even more convenient, Knorr-Bremse TruckServices offers three service kits, including a dryer cartridge, dryer module and multi-circuit protection valve (core module). All GSAT functions are scalable, consistent and comply with the most important regulatory requirements, anywhere in the world and for numerous types of vehicles. Where a cost-efficient architecture is required that saves both space and weight, GSAT can even accommodate an electronic parking brake. Medium-pressure and high-pressure variants are available. GSAT is already in series production and optimized for safety, thanks to the use of Knorr-Bremse’s own premium dryer cartridges and adherence to the latest cybersecurity standards.
GSAT is also capable of controlling e-compressors – including the compact rotary vane compressor that is also available as an aftermarket product. Designed as an energy-efficient, lightweight compressor for electric commercial vehicles with low to medium compressed-air requirements (volumetric flow: 180 to 300 NL/min; 330 NL/min up to 11 bar), the e-compressor is available in three variants. Together with a compact electric motor, the rotary vane compressor forms the Electric Vane Modul (EVM). Knorr-Bremse TruckServices offers a wide range of user-friendly service kits for the e-compressor, optimized for components such as air filters and electric motors.
Workshop assistant: cable marker for efficient replacement of air brake components
Knorr-Bremse TruckServices offers a wide selection of special and auxiliary tools for making repairs and maintenance procedures faster and safer. Among other useful tools, Knorr-Bremse TruckServices will be presenting a new cable marker at Automechanika that will help to support and simplify the replacement of air brake components in workshops.
SOURCE: Knorr-Bremse
