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Asientos resistentes y ligeros para los autobuses canadiensesAdvanced high strength steels open new horizons in different sectors
Light and resistant seats for the Canadian bus
The Canadian view Inc. has developed a new seat for bus, manufactured with advanced high strength steels, in order to meet the stringent demands in safety, strength and economy. Compared to aluminum, high-strength steel seat is similar in weight, but their manufacturing costs are lower. This seat for bus has been nominated for the Swedish Steel 2006 Prize awarded for excellence in design.
The new seat of bus is being used for 18 months in the express coach linking the Canadian cities of Montreal and Quebec. These buses support a high traffic and a high load, which demonstrates that the nominated project has gone through serious real tests in which has been awarded the highest rating.
"These buses are in service most of the day and night, often carrying a large amount of passengers", explains Eric Belval, head of projects and development of engineering in view Inc. in Drummondville, Canada. "We have not received any negative report with respect to the material." "This demonstrates that the advanced high strength steel produces a very durable structure, while the thickness of the material used is much smaller than the one used in the past."
The new seats provide a pleasant feeling of comfort and luxury. The cushions are lined with leather, armrests, folding, are mounted in resistant braces and the seat back is higher than that of other comparable seats. But despite all this, the seat is between 10 and 15 kg lighter.
"The advanced high strength steel offers also an added value in terms of comfort" considers Eric Belval. "The elastic return of high-strength steel can be used to increase the comfort of the seat." "This allows us to use reduced thickness steels for the structure of the seat, which increases the elasticity of the seat and is helping to improve the comfort of the same".
View has used two different advanced high strength steel grades in your project. Reinforcements and subject to the harder elements have been carried out with hot rolled steel with a minimum yield strength of 700 N/mm2. The elements greater, as support, supports them heads and profiles of the chassis of the seat, they have been constructed with hot rolled steel with a minimum yield strength of 1300N/mm2. Both materials are among the most advanced available on the market of high strength steels.
Designers also reduced the weight of the seats designed holes in different profiles in order to eliminate unnecessary material. The work of the seat upholstery also benefits from the framework of the support of the back, which consists of a single continuous profile of steel. Instead of a plastic panel compression-molded, steel on the back of the support profile is covered by a thin layer of foam and, above it, the same fabric as the rest of the seat. The result is a much more attractive, including the draft of the seat of view far above the rest.
Eric Belval considers that still they can be reduced 5 kg in the weight of the seat which is slightly above the 30 kg. The weight can be reduced by modifying the project and reducing the number of welds, but without compromising the safety, cost and comfort.
The future looks bright for view. Interest in efficient transport is growing in different markets. Buses and trains are becoming more interesting alternatives, with regard to air transport and the car. Eric Belval is convinced that the demand will continue to grow and that view has all chances to become the largest supplier of seats for buses and trains, as well as for interior design.
