Broanmain lightweighting project slashes fuel emissions and part costs

Global street cleaning vehicle manufacturer Johnston Sweepers is reaping the benefits of switching from metal fabricated components to plastics moulded parts with the assistance of local injection moulder Broanmain Plastics.

Broanmain began by developing an initial plastic filler cap, switching from the original aluminium, reducing the part cost by half.

Since then, Broanmain has helped convert more than 30 metal parts to plastic, among them a complex suction water outlet which is integral to the road sweeping operation that previously cost more than £50 per metal part, and required extensive welding and power coating.

Wilf Davis, Managing Director at Broanmain, said: “The thickness of the components proved to be a key challenge. We worked with material suppliers to source a dimensionally stable thermoplastic that would meet that tolerance requirements, opting for GFPA for the thicker components that required strength, and ABS for the ascetics components.”

Steve Hurst, Head of Purchasing at Johnston Sweepers, said: “The Broanmain team encouraged us to review our way of thinking, presenting us with a range of durable materials and sensible tooling prices that enabled us to realistically consider changing to plastic moulding."

“By sourcing the tooling from a high-quality Chinese-based specialist, we were able to justify the payback.”

“The switch to plastic has been a slow development of the past decade. Where we see the opportunity for plastic we will use it. And as we move more into all electric vehicles and zero emissions, lightweighting will become increasingly imperative.”