Meritor has made hydraulic actuation available on all ELSA disc brakes, and added new severe-duty front-drive and tridem rear axles.

The new brake option is for all applications requiring hydraulic disc brake variants.

Built with a modular design, the mechanical, pneumatically operated brake housing of the current range is replaced by a hydraulic single or twin piston variant. The bridge, carrier and slide pin arrangements remain common for pneumatic and hydraulic variants.

Pads can also be common and will be available in pad areas from 107-226 square centimetres. The new option covers brakes for wheels between 17.5 and 25 inches. Rotor diameter varies from 324 mm to 500 mm.

“The hydraulic variant supports current applications and specialty applications as well as eMobility vehicles where the industry‘s dependence on pneumatic systems has been reduced to a point where it becomes advantageous to work with hydraulic systems,” said Tony Nicol, vice president, Front & Rear Drivetrain, Europe for Meritor. 

As with all ELSA products, the hydraulic variant can be readily manufactured for all global regions to support OE product development and localisation initiatives.

“Manufacturers can now readily install a pneumatic or hydraulic ELSA brake on the same wheel-end arrangement to reduce production complexity, tooling and engineering development costs,” Nicol said. “Due to common components, end-users benefit from a high commonality of component and service kits.”

Meritor‘s new MX-610 tridem offers wide-ranging axle ratings and high ground clearance as well gross axle weight rating (GAWR) of 60 tons and gross combination weight (GCW) of 210 tons. It fits ELSA disc brakes in a double-calliper configuration to offer high-rated torque with compact packaging.

Its small product envelope is capable of mounting 20-inch wheel rims and offers a steering angle up to 42 degrees. A detachable tandem is optional.

Meritor‘s new proportioning inter-axle differential delivers even torque split between the three axles to maximise traction, load capacity and longevity of the drivetrain. With five differential locks and hardware for optional central tire inflation systems (CTIS), the MZ-610 is equipped for the most demanding applications.

The MZ-610 tridem‘s wide ratio coverage from 4.11 to 7.21 with standard drum or disc brakes delivers safety and performance for vehicles operating in extreme conditions. The faster ratios support downspeeding to reduce fuel consumption.

“High tractive force in all driving conditions increases vehicle productivity,” said Nicol. “An optimised design delivers high power density to handle greater payloads and offers durability and reliability that improves uptime.”