Next article
Previous article
Wheel Safety in Tough Times
Each year the UK has around 11,000 wheel fixing defects and 7 fatalities resulting from accidents caused by wheel fixing defects and losses.
The recent introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, has meant that finding a device which would help to prevent wheels coming off and save lives; has become even more critical.
To achieve this ambitious goal of a safety-critical, robust and cost-effective solution, VisiLok teamed up with Lotus Engineering and cold-forming precision components manufacturer, Floform.
Ron Aspinall, VisiLok Operations Director, explained: “After going through a number of development stages which included proving the basic integrity of the design concept and function, we looked to ensure that the VisiLok nut and stud was robust in all operating conditions.
“By working with Lotus Engineering and Floform we could, among others, select the component material combinations to prevent corrosion from jamming the mechanism, keep the component count to a minimum and produce a universally applicable solution which could put an end to the wheel loss problem.”
Functioning as a normal nut and stud, VisiLok is the culmination of four years of research and development, stringent laboratory testing and operating and durability trials.
Barry McGowan, Managing Director, said: “The design concept starts from the principle that it is difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate loss of clamping force and the slackening of wheel nuts on commercial vehicles.
“In the event that a nut should lose clamping force and start to rotate, the mechanism triggers pins which engage with slots in the stud to prevent further rotation, while at the same time raising warning flags above the surface of the nut.”
VisiLok is now widely available across the UK and a number of road trials are currently underway. Further information is available on www.visilok.com
Ends.