Service providers in the aviation industry
Individual rotating tyre clamps from KAUP GmbH Co. & KG are used in the internal logistics of a service provider for airlines.
From Osthafen (Eastern Harbour) around the world
When an outsider hears or reads 'aviation', images of aircraft immediately come to mind. People think of airports where aircraft take off and land, passengers board and disembark. What people don't immediately think of is the system behind the approximately 2.3 million take-offs and landings in Germany alone (DFS Mobility Report 2018). Aviation service providers are integral parts of this system. Because they maintain, service and repair the aircraft of numerous airlines. But the service providers are not only present at airports such as Frankfurt Airport. They also have factories where people do not expect them.
A lot of wheels - but no planes
Without this knowledge, a visit to the wheel and brake workshop of a major representative of the industry is at first sight somewhat disappointing. Here in the Osthafen (Eastern Harbour) of Frankfurt am Main, aircraft can only be seen in the approach for a landing at Germany's largest airport. Otherwise, only a building sign indicates the association with aviation. But that changes if you want to enter. Controls like at the airport. And at the latest when you enter the factory halls, you immerse yourself in the world of aviation. Aircraft wheels are everywhere. Large or small. Upright or horizontal. New or old. It smells of rubber and oil. Only the relevant aircraft are missing. However, new Still forklifts are in operation in the ultramodern plant. Forklifts with interesting attachments from KAUP.
The mechanical engineering company from Aschaffenburg delivered individually equipped tyre clamps to the Main metropolis in the summer of 2019. And despite the unusual equipment, the customer's project manager is very satisfied: "I have rarely experienced such a relaxed project." And the best from her point of view: "The clamp works just like we thought it would on paper." But what use are the best ideas if they are not accepted by users – i.e. the forklift drivers? Not much. This is not the case in Frankfurt's Osthafen. "I won't give the part back," answers one of the drivers when asked about his satisfaction with the attachment. And another one adds: "I use the clamp every day. It makes everything easier and faster." But what now makes the rotating tyre clamp 1T458S from KAUP faster?
Frames for aircraft wheels are the core element of logistics
Up to 160 aircraft wheels and 25 worn brakes are delivered to the visited wheel and brake workshop every day from the airport about 20 km away. "The wheels and brakes arrive here on pallets in the incoming goods department," the project manager describes the start of the handling task, "and must be placed in racks for internal transport." This can happen in different ways. But "we needed a practical solution," the logistics expert explains further. Finally there is the requirement a second time: in the shipping department. The renewed wheels are lifted there from the racks, turned and placed on pallets for further transport.
The aviation service provider not only maintains the wheels of relatively small aircraft such as the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 in Frankfurt, but also the large models of the Airbus A380. And although the wheels have to withstand a lot, each one is not particularly wide and also lighter than would be expected. "They don't weigh more than 330 kg," says the project manager, "with half a metre of running surface."
Extensive specification sheet
In order to be able to transport the different wheel sizes reliably, Kaup has written some special features in the specifications as compared with the standard device. For example, larger, rubber-covered square contact pads measuring 250 mm by 250 mm were part of the requirements profile. The enlarged opening range from 500 to 1,500 mm and the sideshift function were also included. However, the tyre clamp does not have a sideshift as standard. The customer and KAUP have found a practical solution for this: the integrated sideshift 1.5T151SI with an adjustment range of +/-100 mm. The rotating tyre clamp is mounted on it. This enables the forklift drivers to place and handle the contact pads precisely on the wheels to be transported. A positive side effect of the integration in the mast: the combination of sideshift and tyre clamp has a smaller lost load centre than the standard unit. The larger load centre of the individualised tyre clamp can thus be more than compensated.
Project objective realised. Specifications met. Persons involved and users satisfied. The project in Frankfurt can be summarised in this way. A characteristic that has already aroused the interest of other locations of the service provider. After all, the individual tyre clamp ensures that the wheels quickly get back where they belong: in the air.