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Read nowThe automotive market is increasingly demanding invisible solutions – such as BRiNK’s NEXT swivelling tow bar. NEXT is flexible, versatile in use, and can retract neatly beneath the vehicle once the job is done. The key component is a specially developed actuator that enables the swivelling motion.
OECHSLER and BRiNK have succeeded in developing a reliable actuator that meets the high standards of the automotive industry. To achieve this, the partners employed a range of technologies – from plastic injection molding to laser welding.
The Dutch company BRiNK Towing Systems manufactures high-quality tow bars for the global automotive industry. In response to the growing demand for “invisible” solutions, the idea for the swivelling tow bar NEXT was born.
Founded in 1903 by blacksmith Reint Brink, BRiNK has developed into a renowned automotive supplier. For the NEXT development project, the company found a strong and experienced partner in OECHSLER.
BRiNK had initially hoped to adapt an actuator manufactured by OECHSLER for electronic parking brakes to meet the requirements of the tow bar. When this proved not to be feasible, the two companies launched a new development project and jointly defined the specifications and technical requirements.
For NEXT, BRiNK required a mechanical lock to prevent reverse rotation, which led to the use of a spiral spring. In addition, high-quality gearing materials enable durable plastic gears, while the drive shaft – produced using metal injection molding – ensures the necessary strength despite high complexity and limited installation space.
OECHSLER has long stood for customer-specific manufacturing solutions from a single source. For the NEXT actuator, the electronics development team in Ansbach was responsible for the system design and the layout of the circuit board, including the Hall sensor and EMC protection. The project impressively demonstrates how OECHSLER actively drives innovation – for example, through the first-ever use of laser welding in housing components.
Building on this, a production line specifically tailored to the actuator was established at the Brodswinden site. There, employees assemble 23 individual components at two manual workstations before they enter the automated assembly line. A vision camera monitors the assembly process in real time, ensuring consistently high quality.
When joining the housing components, conventional methods such as screwing or ultrasonic welding proved unsuitable. OECHSLER and BRiNK therefore opted for laser welding. In the quasi-simultaneous process, a focused laser beam heats the weld seam, scanning it multiple times at high speed to achieve a uniform melt. This method offers maximum precision with minimal heat input, ensuring distortion-free results – even at high process speeds.
However, the decision also presented challenges: for example, the housing covers must consist of a uniformly laser-transparent material across the entire weld surface. In addition, material batches may only vary within very tight tolerances to ensure consistently high weld seam quality.
Before laser welding, the workpiece carrier passes through an automated robot cell that performs twelve production steps in a short time. At one station, grease dispensing valves and masks apply lubricant to the gears and bearings. A sensor-equipped monitoring system continuously checks and ensures an even application of lubricant.
A central role is played by the end-of-line testing: the system measures tightness, current, rotational speed, and torque under various conditions. Finally, a laser marks each component with a Data Matrix code to ensure clear traceability.
On the path to successful industrialization, several challenges had to be overcome. Initially, the actuator housing proved too rigid, and the noise levels were above the targeted threshold. BRiNK and OECHSLER implemented targeted optimizations and found suitable solutions for each challenge. The partners were able to offset time delays resulting from the technological adjustments.
In collaboration with BRiNK, OECHSLER succeeded in building new expertise and further advancing its own production capabilities from a technological perspective. The entire project was characterized by open exchange and a high level of technical detail.
BRiNK is currently opening up new customer segments for NEXT, and the first renowned automobile manufacturers are already installing the swiveling tow bar along with the actuator. The teams from BRiNK and OECHSLER are also adapting the actuator for other vehicle models.
Anyone opting for a swiveling tow bar in a new vehicle today will, almost certainly, encounter a component that not only meets the highest standards of durability, functionality, and safety, but also represents a development achievement entirely made in Europe.
We provide sophisticated solutions, based on 20 years of experience in actuator development, prototyping, and manufacturing.
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