Predictive maintenance: BPW now offers measurement of brake lining wear in the trailer with a new sensor

• The BPW BrakePadMonitor quickly pays for itself and lasts as long as the trailer
• Continual wear indication enables perfect timing for brake lining replacement
• Innovative measurement process even protects against dangerous overheating in many cases
• Suitable for retrofitting and compatible with all current trailer disc brakes from BPW

Wiehl, 26.02.2019 --- The next generation of Europe’s top-selling trailer disc brake is in the starting blocks – but it does not come alone: BPW is also supplying a completely redeveloped sensor which is the first to continuously measure brake lining wear and thus enable visits to the garage to be timed perfectly. The system requires no maintenance, can be retrofitted for all BPW trailer disc brakes and also offers further benefits.

Brake lining wear is a costly issue for vehicle operators. It becomes expensive if linings are changed sooner than necessary – but leave it too late and there is a risk of serious accidents. Nevertheless, conventional brake lining wear indicators for trailers are unpopular: they are prone to failure and are not sensitive enough as they only issue a warning once the lining has worn out. There has so far been no way of predicting when the wear indicator will light up – and when it does, the trailer needs to be taken to the garage very quickly. The wear contacts that are currently used for detection then need to be swapped and discarded every time the brake lining is replaced.

Europe’s biggest trailer brake manufacturer, BPW, is now introducing its own new solution: the BPW BrakePadMonitor uses an innovative inductive measurement process that continuously analyses the thickness of the brake lining. The degree of wear is displayed in ten per cent intervals in the cargofleet 3 telematics portal from the BPW subsidiary idem telematics and in the associated driver app. For the first time, this means that a trailer’s brake linings can even be checked remotely and garage appointments can be planned in advance.

The robust sensor is installed in the fixed bearing of the brake, where it is protected against mechanical loads. It requires no maintenance, does not wear out, has no moving parts and lasts as long as the trailer. The sensor does not even need to be removed or adjusted when the brake linings and discs are replaced – servicing doesn’t get much easier than this.

BPW has included another useful benefit in the system, too: the sensor also monitors how much the brake caliper moves and therefore provides a warning in good time before dangerous overheating can occur.

BPW supplies the new BrakePadMonitor to suit the new generation of its trailer disc brake, the ECO Disc TS2. However, it can also be retrofitted at any time in the previous ECO Disc generation – which is one of Europe’s most popular trailer disc brakes with more than two million units sold. 

The system is not just a bonus in terms of safety: the purchase will pay for itself after just one to two brake lining replacements and it thus reduces operating expenses in the long term throughout the life of the vehicle.

Katharina Kermelk, product manager at the BPW mechatronics innovation centre in Wiehl, says: “The brake and therefore the brake lining are some of the most important wear parts on a trailer as they have great relevance for safety and costs. The BPW BrakePadMonitor means that for the first time we are providing vehicle operators with accurate remote diagnostics capability and enabling efficient forward planning for visits to the garage. This is an innovative example of predictive and preventive maintenance, which really pays dividends.”