Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/136260
product report | by Amy Materson AMaterson@randallreilly.com Tweels: the no-flat alternative T earing up tires on the jobsite is a frustrating, though often inevitable part of machine operation. Over the years, a range of solutions – including solid and foam-filled tires – have emerged. Now Michelin has a new answer for skid steers tires. Since 1995, engineers at Michelin's Technology Center in Greenville, South Carolina, have been working on a tire that offers the durability of a solid tire with the comfortable ride of an air-filled tire. The result: The XTweel SSL for skid-steer loaders, an integrated tire and wheel assembly that has no air and therefore cannot burst or go flat. Its single-unit simple design replaces 23 components found in a radial tire. A rigid hub is connected to a shear band via a series of flexible, deformable polyurethane spokes that transfer the load around the circumference of the tread band. Tim Fulton, head of Tweel Technologies for Michelin, says the Tweel offers many advantages compared to air-filled, foam-filled or solid tires. "No-flat capability is the ultimate objective of tire manufacturing," he says. "Many applications are destructive to the tire – you have to fix the tire, losing an hour or two. The operating costs add up." The hub design is universal and can be fitted on most skid steers. According to Michelin, many of the other solutions currently available require some sort of compromise with respect to operator comfort and performance. The Tweel is designed to offer all the advantages, but with no compromise, says Jack Olney, market- Michelin says the polyurethane spokes that make up the Tweel allow the tire to weigh less than solid tires, enabling simplified mounting. ing and sales for Michelin Tweel Technologies. "There is a consistent footprint all the time with no extra movement, which eliminates a lot of the bounce," he says. "There is no instantaneous failure like with an air-filled tire, and the Tweel can be retreaded." Beyond the reduction in downtime caused by flat tires, air pressure checks and situations where you might have too much or too little tire pressure, the Tweel also boasts greater stability and shock absorp- tion over normal tires, Michelin says. And the tires feature an increased footprint size and equal tread depth, a single-unit replacement, greater puncture resistance and greater rolling resistance. The Tweel has already attracted high profile attention. On April 26, the Michelin X-Tweel SSL received a Silver Award in the Transportation category at the 2013 Edison Awards, which honor the most innovative new products and services in America. EW June 2013 | EquipmentWorld.com EW0613_On Record.indd EW 2013 Master.indd 87 11 6/10/13 2:13 PM 6/10/13 3:00 PM