Fontaine Brings Friction Stir Welding to Revolution Trailer
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Fontaine Commercial Trailer Inc. announced it assembles its Revolution brand all-aluminum platform trailer using StirLITE friction stir welding, just as the aerospace industry uses friction stir welding to build aircraft wings without adding material or weight.
“In our StirLITE friction stir welding process aluminum floor extrusions are stirred together at high speed without melting the material. The aluminum extrusions become one at the molecular level, making the floor a single-piece of rigid aluminum. The lower temperatures eliminate distortion, and since we do not use welding wire or welding rods there is no splatter or added weight,” said Ken Webb, vice president of sales for Fontaine.
Traditional trailers twist, bend and flex as they travel the highways under load.
The Revolution with its rigid floor design delivers unprecedented road stability, according to the Haleyville, Ala.-based company. This helps the Revolution trailer track straight behind the tractor, which means less road friction. This results in less tire wear that can increase the life of the tire up to 30% and improve fuel mileage up to 3%. In addition, Revolution’s patented unitized design reduces side-bow flexing, which promotes longer tire life and reduces stress on the suspension and other trailer components for greater durability.
Fontaine is a Marmon Highway Technologies/Berkshire Hathaway company. — Transport Topics
