With the tough operating conditions, long distances and number of years that trucks in the GCC run, it’s no surprise that breakdowns are a fact of life for many fleet owners. To prevent them, and the subsequent downtime, regular maintenance is essential, as is a willingness to invest in quality spare parts.
Dubai-based Cardan Shaft Network (CSN) Middle East began as a solution for fleet managers facing cardan shaft failure, promising to deliver custom-built drive shafts in under 24 hours for customers in the UAE and 48 hours for those across the GCC.
CSN overhauls and builds new and re-manufactured cardan shafts in its facility in Dubai Silicon Oasis, for heavy and light commercial vehicles, construction equipment and even industrial applications such as oil and gas. This is a highly precise and demanding process. Nearly every shaft needs to be made to order, depending on factors such as engine-gearbox combination, the application the vehicle or equipment is deployed in, and so on.
A visit to CSN’s premises reveals work in full swing at the facility. The work area is separated from the front office by rows of shelves stocking various sizes of flanges, cross joints and tubes.
Shaft manufacturing is highly precise work and depends on exact measurements and the right machinery for assembling, points out Hans Georg Brune, CSN managing partner. Explaining how the process works, he says the firm first gets an inquiry from a customer. If the buyer in question has a European truck which hasn’t undergone any modifications, he simply has to provide CSN with the chassis number, which will enable the company to identify the dimensions of the cardan shaft required through its database.
“We only need confirmation from the customer that the truck is still in original condition. Sometimes, the truck is modified for specific applications like a concrete pump or mixer, and in such cases, there could be changes,” Brune says. In case of changes from the original specification of the vehicle, CSN can build as per provided measurements or sample unit.
“Once we have identified what is required, we take the components like flanges, yokes, the length extension and the bearings, and we pre-assemble the two ends of the shaft manually.”
The technicians then cut the length of tube required, depending on the size of the shaft. The firm stocks tubes in a wide range of sizes, 50-155mm in diameter and 1.5-7mm in thickness. The size of the shaft varies, depending on the performance required.
After the length of pipe is cut, the components are hydraulically pressed into the Cardan tube, welded by a welding robot and finally electronically re-balanced per the manufacturer’s requirements. Once the shaft is ready, it is painted, labelled, packed and delivered to the customer with a one-year warranty.
As straightforward as the manufacturing process sounds, Brune admits that establishing a presence among heavy vehicle fleet owners has not been without its challenges. There’s a long way to go as far as educating customers is concerned, he asserts. “When we started the setup, our main focus was on trucks and light commercial vehicles. But once we entered the market, we noticed that there was a lot of resistance.”
Buying new drive shafts has not been an option for several fleet owners in the Middle East for many reasons, mainly the cost and time involved. As there is a lot of variation in shaft sizes, dealers do not typically store them. Hence, if the vehicle is of a European make, a new shaft needs to be ordered from Europe.
“The shaft for an Actros weighs up to 80-90kg and can sometimes be more than 3 metres long. It has to come by sea freight, so we’re talking four to six weeks,” Brune says, noting that the time required for shipping translates into downtime for the truck, which cannot operate without a shaft.
Fleet operators have often resorted to buying shafts from a scrap yard and then buying new parts like flanges and cross joints. After this, the shaft and parts are taken to a machine shop. “The machine shop doesn’t have the right devices to manufacture a shaft,” Brune explains. “To make a shaft, the most important thing is balancing it. Balancing is also required for repairing and/or overhauling an existing shaft when the cross joints or flanges have been replaced.”
If the shaft hasn’t been balanced properly, the bearings do not last for long and problems can develop with the gearbox and axles because of vibrations.
CSN is well poised to offer a solution through its shafts overhaul service, using parts imported from Germany as well as a German-patented machine park and manufacturing management system which ensures shafts are properly balanced. The end result is a cost-effective and timely service for cardan shaft replacement, the first of its kind in the Middle East.
However, as any manufacturer will admit, in a price-conscious market the biggest challenge remains educating customers on the importance of buying quality products. This is particularly true in the automotive after-market, where fleet owners are often not willing to shell out for premium parts.
“A cardan shaft is not as simple as people think it is,” Brune says. “We are getting more and more enquiries, and business is starting to pick up since we started our operations in spring 2015. But it takes time to convince customers to abandon long-used methods of repairing shafts.”
The firm has been finding more success in heavy equipment and industrial applications, where customers tend to be less price-sensitive, Brune notes. But truck owners, in a bid to save short-term costs, continue to cut corners in buying parts.
“If your truck is not operating, it’s not making any money. Do it right the first time, and we won’t see your truck again for the same problem for at least another 400,000km.”
