Why Lightweighting
Why Lightweighting?
Most truck bodies have traditionally been built using a post and skin method that has seen very little change in the last 50 years. These utilize a lot of parts that are welded, riveted and/or glued. An even heavier option, Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood (FRP), was used for the sides and front. This was attractive however the plywood is prone to delaminating. Although the design worked, it did not take into consideration high fuel prices, efficiency or environmental issues that are a business reality today.
Composite materials, combined with extruded aluminum are the materials of choice for effective lightweighting. By eliminating as much as 50% of the deadweight in a dry freight truck body, the same truck can carry more payload while the same horsepower engine provides superior acceleration, better gas mileage, braking and safety. As neither aluminum nor composite panels rust, the truck body is going to look as good in 15 years as it does today which translates into a much higher resale value.
Why Composites?
Composites are a mixture of two or more materials creating a new material that has properties greater that the individual materials. Our preference is a thermoplastic composite consisting of polypropylene reinforced with glass fibers. We use this composite material to create a sandwich panel as well as a number of structural components for truck bodies.
Sandwich panels are a means of increasing the relative stiffness of a material in a manner similar to the way an I-beam is used in structural steel construction. If we assume two sheets of material together have a relative stiffness of 1; by doubling the distance between the sheets, the relative stiffness is increased by a factor of 7. By doubling it again, the relative stiffness is now 35. The use of a lightweight, core material to separate the two face sheets allows a composite sandwich panel to be much stronger than steel on a pound for pound basis without any rot or rusting. The face sheets of our panels are thermofused to the core, eliminating any possibility of adhesive failure. The manufacturing process is continuous, producing panels of any length by up to 10 feet wide.
The two types of composites common in the transportation industry are thermoplastics such as we use and thermoset composites such as epoxy, polyester and vinylester. Thermosets are rigid and cannot be reused while thermoplastics can be reheated and reused several times.
Metal to metal (or other rigid materials) joints are susceptible to fatigue and eventually breakdown. This fatigue is caused by ongoing road vibration and other movement of the truck body. One of the key benefits of a thermoplastic, honeycomb panel is its ability to absorb this energy. By using honeycomb panels as structural components of the walls, roof and doors of a truck body, the entire structure including the metal components will last much longer.
Why Extruded Aluminium?
There has been a considerable leveling of prices between aluminum and steel to the point that it is a viable alternative to the much heavier steel. Generally steel is stronger than aluminum; however extrusion technology has also advanced greatly so that a cleverly designed extrusion can achieve a similar tensile strength with much less weight. Combined with new alloys, fastening techniques and materials, extruded aluminum makes an excellent companion to composite panel technology for truck bodies.
Our Design Approach
Although it is becoming more affordable to use extruded composites for some applications, MonoVan uses a number of extruded aluminum components to fasten composite panels together. Typically this would be at corners or door frames.
Extruded and tempered aluminum has a tensile strength 105% stronger than sheet aluminum. This allows us to have a stronger and lighter component than sheet aluminum, roll formed into a component such as a rear frame. Fastening technology such as Huck bolts and modern structural adhesives provide much stronger and enduring joins than welding.
The use of precision extruded components and large size composite panels has enabled us to manufacture a truck body kit with much fewer components than conventional construction. These kits can be mass produced and economically shipped to any location in North America where they can be assembled and mounted on a truck chassis in approximately three hours by a two man team.
Our Commitment
MonoVan is committed to manufacturing the highest quality truck bodies and accessories available in North America. This commitment is supported by our investment in state of the art equipment, technology and training. Reefers and insulated dry freight trucks will be available during the first quarter of 2010. Our precision CNC cutting will be operational for spring production and our high volume sandwich panel system will be completed by the end of 2010 allowing us to produce panels up to 10 feet wide and only limited in length by logistics.
We are committed to losing weight!
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Efficient Transportation Solutions Contact Numbers
8059 Sheridan Crt. Office: 905-549-1235
Grassie, ON Fax: 866-748-6021
L0R 1M0
Ontario, Eastern USA
Charles St-Louis
tel: 819-698-6521
email: ecm.group.inc_gmail.com
Québec, Ontario, Maritimes
Most truck bodies have traditionally been built using a post and skin method that has seen very little changed in the last 50 years. It utilizes a lot of parts, welded, riveted and/or glued. An even heavier option utilized Fibreglass Reinforced Plywood (FRP) for the sides and front.
It was attractive but the plywood is prone to delaminating. Although the design worked, it did not take into consideration high fuel prices, efficiency or environmental issues that are a business reality today.
Composite materials combined with extruded aluminum are the materials of choice for effective lightweighting. By getting rid of as much as 50% of the deadweight in a dry freight truck body, the same truck can carry more payload; the same horsepower engine provides superior acceleration, better gas mileage, braking and safety. As neither aluminum nor composite panels rust, the truck body is going to look as good in 15 years as it does today which translates into a much higher resale value.
About MonoVan
MonoVan is a manufacturer of lightweight and efficient truck body kits and accessories to the North American transportation market. A typical dry freight kit can be assembled and mounted on a standard truck chassis in approximately 3 hours by a two man team.
A key feature of all our kits is Lightweighting. Lightweighting is the reduction of deadweight and an increase in durability by the use of advanced material technology. You can call it a weight loss program for trucks. At MonoVan, the advanced material technology is a lightweight honeycomb sandwich panel combined with the extensive use of extruded aluminum components using aerospace design principals and heat treated alloys for strength, durability and weight reduction. As with all weight loss programs, lightweighting increases efficiency, performance and safety.
There has been a considerable levelling of prices between aluminum and steel to the point that it is a viable alternative to the much heavier steel. Generally steel is stronger than aluminum.
However, extrusion technology has also advanced greatly so that a cleverly designed extrusion can achieve a similar tensile strength with much less weight. This combined with new alloys, fastening techniques and materials make extruded aluminum an excellent companion to composite panel technology for truck bodies.
Extruded and tempered aluminum has a tensile strength 105% stronger than sheet aluminum. This permits us to have a stronger and much lighter component than sheet aluminum roll formed into a component such as a rear frame. Fastening technology such as Huck bolts and modern structural adhesives provide much stronger, more enduring joins than welding.
The use of precision extruded components and large size composite panels has enabled us to manufacture a truck body kit with much fewer components than conventional construction. These kits can be mass produced and economically shipped to anywhere in North America where they can be assembled and mounted on a truck chassis in about three hours by a two man team.
Composites are a mixture of two or more materials creating a new material that has properties greater that the individual materials. Our composite of choice is a thermoplastic composite consisting of polypropylene reinforced with glass fibres. We use this composite material to create a number of structural components for truck bodies as well as a composite sandwich panel.
Sandwich panels are a means of increasing the relative stiffness of a material in a manner similar to the way an I-beam is used in structural steel construction. For example, lets assume two sheets of material together have a relative stiffness on 1. By doubling the distance between the sheets, you increase the relative stiffness by a factor of 7. By doubling it again, you get a relative stiffness of 35.
The use of a light weight core material to separate the two face sheets allows a composite sandwich panel to be much stronger than steel on a pound for pound basis. And it doesnt rot or rust. The face sheets of our panels are thermofused to the core to eliminate any possibility of adhesive failure. The manufacturing process is a continuous one so panels can be any length by up to 10 feet wide.
Two types of composites common in the transportation industry are thermoplastics such as we use and thermoset composites such as epoxy, polyester and vinylester. Thermosets are rigid and cannot be reused. Thermoplastics can be reheated and reused several times.
The metal to metal (or other rigid materials) joints are susceptible to fatigue and eventually breakdown. This fatigue is caused by the ongoing road vibration and other movement of the truck body.
One of the key benefits of a thermoplastic honeycomb panel is its ability to absorb this energy. By using honeycomb panels as structural components of the walls, roof and doors of a truck body, the entire structure including the metal components will last much longer.
