TPMS and RFID
Tech Europe says it is “delighted to be able to offer the most comprehensive TPMS solution available in Europe today.” Key components of Tech Europe’s programme, which is run in partnership with Tyresure, include a complete range of OE and aftermarket sensors, ATEQ diagnostic tools, and a comprehensive TPMS website and online ordering system (www.techtpms.com).
2015 represents the first full year of both mandatory TPMS on new vehicles and system functionality tests as part of MOT tests at the aftermarket end of the spectrum. And according to those in the TPMS sector, this new legislation has brought new confidence to the TPMS market. Tyresure reports that most multisite UK operations now boast some knowledge of this new technology. Many tyre bays are turning their attention to the sales opportunities that servicing TPMS sensors brings.
At the end of 2014, with news of the launch of the new Opti-Tread system for passenger car tyre auditing still fresh, Tyres & Accessories visited Translogik CEO Laren Yeomans at the company’s new Oxfordshire offices in order to find out more about the new product and how it fits into Translogik’s wider strategy.
But first a little background. Translogik is the Tyre Management Solutions division of Transense Technologies PLC, a firm specialising in the development of Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors and related technologies. The Transense Group is comprised of three divisions. IntelliSAW, based in Boston, USA, specialises in wireless temperature measurement used in various industrial applications, SAWSense, the firm’s research & development and technology transfer operation; and Translogik – the part of the business we were in Oxford to learn more about.
WheelRight launched a mobile version of its tyre pressure monitoring system during the last month. The system measures tyre pressure on vehicles including cars and commercial vehicles using a rollover plate and then sends readings to the user’s mobile phone.
Companies can now also trial the mobile device for a 24-hour period, according to the company. The idea is that fleets will be able to see for themselves the benefits of moving from monthly to daily pressure checks in gaining instant tyre pressure readings for each vehicle when upgrading to an installed unit.
Crysler Group LLC is recalling 21,042 2014-model year Ram ProMaster vehicles in the US due to a Tyre Press Monitoring System (TPMS) fault. The problem is that in the affected vehicles, the TPMS may fail to learn the locations of the individual sensors while the vehicle is being driven. As a result, the low tyre pressure warning light will light-up irrespective of the tyre pressure.
Hofmann Power Weight has added TPMS starter kits and valves to its product portfolio; both products are made to original equipment quality levels and provide wide coverage for their respective target markets, the company states.
Japanese automotive supplier Denso reports that it is will launch a new “unique aftermarket product” and expand its TPMS range at November’s AAPEX show, which will be held at the Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas from 4-6 November.
Just over six months since the last time Tyres & Accessories met Michel Rzonzef at the Geneva Motor Show, the Goodyear executive has switched segments. When we met before he was vice president of the Consumer Tire Business at Goodyear EMEA. Now he is vice president of Commercial Tires EMEA. So, with the move from consumer to commercial still relatively fresh, T&A took the opportunity to discuss the development and direction of the truck and fleet tyre business with Rzonzef during the course of the recent Goodyear Fleet Symposium in Brussels on 14 October. Henk van Tuyl, Goodyear’s director of regional technology – Heavy Tires EMEA, also joined in with the conversation.
Tyre, wheel and automotive data firm DriveRight reports that it will soon be offering TPMS CAD analysis. In a recent newsletter the company reports that it has a number of different CAD drawings of OE and AM tyre pressure monitoring sensors from a variety of manufacturers (including Alligator, Schrader, Huf and VDO/Continental).
On 20 October Freescale Semiconductor introduced the FXTH87 tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) family, which the company claims is the smallest integrated TPMS solution available. Weighing in at just 0.3 grams the FXTH87 family is said to be 50 per cent smaller than competing products. Freescale reports that its newest TPMS provides low power consumption combined with the highest level of functional integration in one package, featuring a dual-axis accelerometer architecture, pressure and temperature sensor, integrated MCU, RF transmitter and low frequency receiver.
Sensing and electrical protection supplier Sensata Technologies has completed its acquisition of Schrader, the global tyre pressure monitoring sensor (TPMS) and valve solutions manufacturer. The transaction provides Sensata with a leadership position in the growing TPMS market, the company said in a statement announcing the news.
First-time registered passenger cars and vans up to 2.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight are required to be equipped with tyre pressure monitoring systems from November 2014 onwards. In most cases, vehicles will be fitted with direct TPMS in which sensors monitor both the tyre pressure and its temperature. For the diagnosis of these direct systems, Bosch has developed the TPA 200 mobile tester, a unit that can be used when working directly on a vehicle or in a tyre warehouse.
With half a million pounds invested in a new state-of-the-art hydro-blasting machine based on a Scania 8×6 chassis, W J Roadmarkings wanted to take every measure to ensure nothing would disrupt its availability for work. Tyre failure was a major potential problem, especially as the vehicle would be working mainly on road construction sites and rural roads. To overcome this, the UK’s leading independent company in both laying down and erasing road markings fitted the Scania with a ContiPressureCheck tyre pressure monitoring system.
Slow and constant air pressure loss is one of the most common causes of tyre failure in port environments and other industrial settings. The consequences of tyre damage and the vehicle downtime that results from it are costly and disruptive to the supply chain. As a means of minimising such problems, Continental Commercial Specialty Tires (CST) has extended its ContiPressureCheck tyre pressure management system into the specialty tyre segment. Continental says its system is reliable and facilitates greater tyre lifespan. ContiPressureCheck is suitable for use on all types of industrial vehicles and functions with all brands of tubeless pneumatic tyres.
WheelRight, the firm which has been recently promoting an award-winning off-vehicle pressure monitoring system, has confirmed its membership to the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP).
Set up 11 years ago, the LowCVP operates to move the UK to low carbon vehicles and fuels, and works with its 200 members to promote low carbon opportunities, research in the field and accelerate the take up of lower carbon choices.
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