WHEELS OF THE FUTURE

Wheels India has improved upon shock resistance, light-weighting and strength. Ashish Bhatia looks at the new wheel forms for the domestic and international markets.

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Wheels India Ltd. is excited about the cast flow form wheel. One of the manufacturing techniques in the wheel industry is flow forming, known to be used for the production of cast alloy wheels. Using the technology, pressure is applied to the wheel both while it is spinning and after it has been cast. The process involves stretching aluminium and compressing it during this process. This in turn is claimed to improve its mechanical qualities. This process’s characteristics are comparable to the forging process. Compared to a conventional cast wheel, the finished product is significantly more shock-resistant, lighter, and more robust (of the same design). By the end of the year, the flow form wheel is expected to be made available for domestic and international markets.

Admitting to the aggregates like wheels, evolving post the rollout of the 2017 revisions in the axle load norms, these wheels have been aligned to bear the higher rated payloads, Srivats Ram, Managing Director of Wheels India and Past President at ACMA averred. There was an “adjustment” made at our end to meet the customer requirements. The use of aluminium paves the way for light-weighting but also comes in at a premium, he cited. With India as a “value-formoney” market, he explained, the use case of aluminium is not one fit for all and is applicationspecific in comparison to advanced markets like the US and the EU. He made a case to laud the OEMs who have withstood back-to-back regulatory changes including the BSIV to BSVI transition.