Safety and Speed can be Connected
Eliminating the risk of entering the “Crush Zone"
Removing a wheel assembly that can weigh as much as 9t is a complex and dangerous exercise.
The current process still relies heavily on soft controls to protect our teams from potentially fatal crush injuries:
- Exclusion / No Go Zones
- Signage and positive communications
- Demarcation
These controls all share a common problem.
Team members are still required to access an area where there is a very real risk of being injured or in the worst of circumstances, being crushed.
Rim-Lock® retainers have been created to instantly and securely lock a tyre and rim assembly in place without the need for any manual interaction from personnel. By removing the human element from a crush zone, the risk of fatality can be eliminated.
Once the Rim-Lock® retainers are in place, installation can continue as normal. The retainers engage with the thread to instantly secure the tyre and rim assembly in position. There is no need for any rotation of the Rim-Lock® retainers. This eliminates the current requirement for team members to place themselves in a crush zone.
The Rim-Lock® retainers are placed on the nave plate of the rim to be installed, at a point when the wheel assembly does not present any danger of uncontrolled movement to any personnel.
The Rim-Lock® retainers are securely held in place by the neodymium magnets embedded in the unit.
Once all personnel are clear of the crush zone, a tyre manipulator can safely fit the wheel assembly onto the vehicle, without the need for any further manual interaction from any personnel.
At no time during the installation of the wheel assembly to the vehicle, will any personnel be required to place themselves between an unsecured load and the tyre manipulator.
Rim-Lock® retainers contain a unique and patent protected internal mechanism that engages with the stud, instantly locking onto the thread and securing the assembly in position, without the need for any rotation of the retainers.
With the risk of unplanned movements eliminated, the vehicle’s standard retainers can now safely be installed and the Rim-Lock retainers can be removed.
Rim-Lock® retainers have an RPEQ certification undertaken by Ben Adamczyk, Chartered Professional Engineer – RPEQ, CPEng, BEng (Hons) Member of the Institute of Engineers Australia. (The full Design Risk Assessment is available on request).
Jet Engineering located in Paget, Mackay has provided Engineering Certification and rated each individual retainer at 7.5t, with a 1.5 times safety factor applied.
Bullivants Pty Ltd from Mackay Queensland has Load Tested and tested the retainers to destruction (Certification available on request).
Due in part to the materials used, and in some circumstances the extended thread engagement with the screw thread of the stud, the Rim-Lock® is at a minimum as strong as a “standard” nut/fastener.
The individual Rim-Lock® retainers can be customised to suit circumstances where additional length of thread engagement is possible, leading to increased disbursement of load and therefore increased tensile strength.
Once the tyre and rim assembly is installed and retained by the Rim-Lock® and with the Tyre Manipulator out of the way and no longer required, a work platform can now easily be used.
The standard fasteners (i.e nuts) can be installed on the remaining studs. With all fasteners in place and tensioned, the Rim-Locks® can be safely removed and replaced with the standard fasteners.
Rim-Lock® retainers are a tool that can be re-used, and if maintained through OEM servicing, will withstand the harshest of operating conditions while maintaining maximum performance.
The Rim-Lock® can easily be integrated into current site SOP’s & work instructions and will create a safer work environment for every person involved.
Our Rim-Lock® innovation is at its core a re-invention of the humble nut (i.e nuts and bolts, or fasteners of the wheel assembly of vehicles).
The Rim-Lock® retainer can be customised to suit most situations where there is a need to instantly and securely lock a wheel assembly in place, without the need for any manual interaction from personnel.
It is not a product that aims to replace the function or the use of a nut as an essential partner of the bolt. However, it will function as a tool that can be used in all circumstances where safety and speed are essential for the mechanical fastening of a wheel assembly to a vehicle.
Rim-Lock® Solutions
Customisation
Our Rim-Lock® innovation is at its core a re-invention of the humble “nut” (i.e nuts and bolts, or fasteners of the tyre and rim assembly of vehicles).
The Rim-Lock® system and its design has been audited and certified by a Registered Professional Engineer from an industry leading Australian engineering firm.
The retainers are machined from 4140 tool steel and are treated for corrosion resistance.
The Rim-Lock® retainer can be customised to suit most situations where there is a need to instantly and securely lock a tyre and rim assembly in place, without the need for any manual interaction from personnel.
It is not a product that aims to replace the function or the use of a nut as an essential partner of the bolt. However, it will function as a tool that can be used in all circumstances where safety and speed are essential for the mechanical fastening of a tyre and rim assembly to a vehicle.
As such, the application of the Rim-Lock® is expansive. Its application in the mining industry is only its starting point. Ranging from Civil Engineering to the Construction Industry, and from the Motor Racing to the Farming Industry, the adaptation of the Rim-Lock® will revolutionise how tyres and rims are installed and removed.
Improved efficiency and significant time saving
Using the Rim-Lock® system provides a significant improvement to the current process of fitting a tyre and rim assembly with simple integration into existing process and procedure.
Significant time saving
The current process using standard fasteners and a tyre handler:
Per tyre and rim assembly:
Enter and exit tyre handler twice
= 4 mins
Isolate, de-isolate tyre handler and install wheel chocks (incl. danger tagging)
= 7 mins
Fit the minimum required 4 – 6 fasteners and tension
= 3 mins
Total mins
= 14 mins
Process using the Rim-Lock®:
Per assembly:
Install the retainers on to the nave plate
= 2 mins
Enter/ exit tyre handler once
= 2 mins
Continue with standard installation process
Total mins
= 4 mins
Total time savings using the Rim-Lock® system:
Per assembly = 71.4 %
Ongoing OEM maintenance and life-cycle tracking through integration with YPB® technology
Rim-Lock® retainers are a tool that can be re-used, and when maintained through OEM servicing, will withstand the harshest of operating conditions while maintaining maximum performance.
To safeguard our product’s integrity, and to provide our clients with an efficient means of identifying the Rim-Lock® system as authentic, we have partnered with YPB Group Limited to create a custom built platform delivering a means of authentication, life-cycle tracking and digital reporting.
Although we may not be able to stop our retainers from being counterfeited over time, we have taken significant steps to provide our customers with world leading technology to identify any fake Rim-Lock® products should they arrive onsite.
Using YPB’s patent protected products, all Rim-Lock® delivered with YPB Tracer® and ProtectCode® Plus technology.
YPB Tracer® is one of the only invisible, forensically indisputable tracers available on the market. Authentication is achieved using a customised hand-held Bluetooth scanning device.
In order to ensure a quick, yet comprehensive overview of each retainers status and service history, the YPB ProtectCode® Plus technology provides multilayer unique QR code that can be scanned using any tablet or smartphone’s camera to reveal all essential formation:
- Engineering certification
- Clear representation that the retainer is within inspection period
- Full service history, including any parts that have been replaced
- User guides and animations
- Warranty
Contact Rim-Lock Innovations Pty Ltd
1300 RIMLOCK
(+61 1300 74 65 62)
info@rim-lock.com.au
Technical queries ask for Joe
Commercial queries ask for Michael