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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING – LOCATIONS –
TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
– NEWS AND INFORMATION
PRODUCTS
uel consumption, environmental
friendliness and safety are key as-
pects when buying a car. However, an-
other very important consideration for
purchasing a new vehicle is the comfort
for both driver and passengers alike.
Therefore, SCHERDEL has, for many
years now, been developing outstand-
ing solutions for the automotive industry
in cooperation with car makers that pay
great attention to user comfort and con-
venience. A prime example is the ten-
sion spring mechanism, which has
been further developed into an assem-
bly part to facilitate the opening and
closing of car tailgates. Seen from the
viewpoint of OEMs, the SCHERDEL
developments are comfort solutions
which do not add a great deal to the
price of production. SCHERDEL sup-
plies roughly 6.5 million tension spring
mechanisms for worldwide use each
year.
It is quite easy to explain why
SCHERDEL has gone from being a
leading manufacturer of “simple” ten-
sion springs to a supplier of functional
groups for the opening and closing of
tailgates. On the one hand, it is
SCHERDELʼs extensive knowledge of
materials and production processes
which play a decisive role in product
development using cutting-edge simula-
tion tools. On the other hand, in addi-
tion to a highly motivated workforce,
SCHERDEL has the technical means to
develop system solutions and to pro-
duce them “from a single source”. And
the exciting and creative synergies
within the Group with its own mechani-
cal engineering and tool making divi-
sions and state-of-the-art coating instal-
lations should not be forgotten. Modern-
day tailgate opening systems are actu-
ally based on a former trend: the com-
bination of a bracket hinge and a tor-
sion spring guarantees the
automatic opening of the
tailgate no matter which
external conditions prevail.
Once application of the
correct material has been
determined, product devel-
opment initially involves
calculation of the required
manual force curve togeth-
er with the design of the
ideal spring. SCHERDEL
was able to develop a ma-
terial which has since been
patented and prevents hy-
drogen embrittlement dur-
ing the painting process,
thus ensuring the desired service life of
the springs. Further criteria for success-
ful product development were the FEM
calculations for optimizing the rigidity
and weight of the opening systems and
achievement of the corrosion resistance
desired by the customers.
It is possible to assemble SCHERDEL
tailgate torsion springs before painting.
The joint dimension can be determined
during installation, thus helping to re-
F
Tension springs – a notice
Patented material from SCHERDEL used for the co
opening and closing systems
Calculation mask: theoretical pre-
diction of manual force curve, ten-
sion spring mechanism for opening
car tailgates
Start model for analysis of the stress curve using
the Finite Element Method (FEM)
Contact data
SCHERDEL INNOTEC
Forschungs- und Entwick-
lungs-GmbH
Scherdelstr. 2
95615 Marktredwitz
Germany
Contact:
Dipl. Ing. Thomas Heinl
Tel.: +49 9231 603-545
Email:
thomas.heinl@scherdel.de
Company anniver-
sary
The SCHERDEL factory in Er-
langen recently celebrated its
75th anniversary. Plant manager
Johann Kerner welcomed the
principal shareholder of the
SCHERDEL
Group
, Heidelore
Scherdel, as well as the Group
managing director, Walter Bach,
and the shareholder Marcus
Bach to Erlangen on the occa-
sion of this special anniversary.
Manfred Wegmann, Thilo von
Glass, Josef Söllner and Eber-
hard Leidl had also been invited
as representatives of the
SCHERDEL management. The
subsidiary in Erlangen-Bruck was
founded in 1936 by Max and Ru-
di Scherdel. Initial products in-
cluded valve springs for aircraft
engines. The company later fo-
cused on the production of
springs for mattresses and the
manufacturing of double-body
springs.
Today, the SCHERDEL plant in
Erlangen primarily produces high-
loaded tension springs for appli-
cation in various industry sectors.