Mercedes’ Kassel Plant Produces 100,000th IPS Axle

Mercedes-Benz has recently reached another milestone after its Kassel plant produced its 100,000^th Induction Pressure Welding (IPS) axle for its trucks.

This industry-first technology enables welding steel and casting parts with any contours. The main body of the axle, called the axle housing, is produced from three elements and adapted flexibly as per the regional vehicle and market requirements.

Given that the axle housing’s material mix cuts the overall weight of the rear axle and the fuel consumption in the Mercedes-Benz Actros, the modular construction kit for axle housings pays off for truck customers. Almost every new Mercedes-Benz Actros comes with an optimized rear axle. The IPS axles are also installed in the automaker’s Axor and Atego truck models.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the Kassel plant to mark this production milestone, Daimler trucks global powertrain and manufacturing engineering head, Dr. Frank Reintjes, said that the advanced IPS welding technology stresses the significance of the Kassel facility as a global competence center for manufacturing truck axles. “This technology was developed and brought into series production for the first time at our Kassel site.”

Employees at the facility developed the patented welding technology in-house. For the most part, the IPS production machine was also designed and constructed on-site.

Production of the IPS axles kicked off in 2012. In the past, the axle housings were procured from suppliers, but these components can now be manufactured competitively at the facility thanks to the new production process.

According to Mercedes-Benz Kassel plant site manager, Ludwig Pauss, 100,000 IPS axles are proof to their factory’s innovative strength and flexibility.

The main body of the rear axle is formed by the axle housing. This component previously composed of a single-piece made of steel or cast iron. The all-new IPS axle housing is a three-piece modular construction.

The center section boasts a welded steel construction, while the two end sections are made of cast iron due to their intricate geometry. In order to join the three components together, the engineers explored new ways to develop and produce axle housings using various materials.

In the initial phase of the two-part IPS welding process, the point at which the parts are joined is heated using magnetic induction. In the event the temperature has almost reached the melting point of the casting material, the two components are compressed together under high force on a press in the second phase of the process.

The construction team revealed that one of the greatest challenges they encountered during the technology’s development was meeting the exact temperature point.