Wabco IBV-pipes
Wabco is a world leader in brake and suspension systems for commercial vehicles. The company has plants in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Brazil and Switzerland.
For a number of years, the internal breather valves (IBV) have been produced by turning them from aluminium bar. However, this process is relatively inefficient as it produces a large amount of waste. Wabco and Swildens undertook a project to optimise the production process. The IBV-pipes are now produced by impact extrusion followed by mechanical finishing. This process has many advantages: it results in better mechanical propertiesit reduces costs, cuts waste and has improved all quality aspects. The Swildens supplier also fits a number of other parts to the IBV-pipes and supplies Wabco with complete subassemblies.
This project was highly successful. The Swildens supplier now delivers 1.5 million IBV-pipesannually to Wabco plants throughout the world and has eight CNC centres dedicated to this product. The benefits to Wabco are clear: a higher quality and increased functionality, at a lower cost.
