Spearheading technological innovations in AUTOMOTIVE BEARINGS for over six decades
Founded in 1961, TEXSPIN® Bearings Limited is currently offering industry-leading technological breakthroughs to the automotive sector via technology-driven platforms (clutches, wheels, transmission. Suspension & Steering bearings). The firm has evolved over time from an innovator in bearing manufacturing to a knowledge-based technology company that assists customers in attaining long-term, competitive business excellence. TEXSPIN®’s technology solutions continue to aid businesses in the automotive and industrial segments in introducing innovative technology products and achieving long-term advancements in friction reduction, energy efficiency, and equipment longevity and reliability.
Bearings are ‘green products’ that help reduce vehicle friction, pollution, and fuel consumption. The strengths of TEXSPIN® are the tribology cultivated through bearing development, and the heat treatment, precision machining, and precision measurement required for bearing manufacturing. TEXSPIN® Bearings offers tailor-made value-added innovative solutions across all technology platforms, with a strong commitment to research-driven innovation.
In India, TEXSPIN® has two manufacturing facilities, four regional sales offices (New Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, and Chennai), a network of over 400 dealers, and more than 1500 motivated and engaged professionals. “We serve customers in Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, which together account for more than 20% of our global business turnover at TEXSPIN®,” says Dipen Makwana, Managing Director, Texspin in an interview with Engineering Review. Excerpts:
Q. What is your contribution to the automotive industry?
TEXSPIN®’s deep technical expertise in delivering innovative solutions stems from a commitment to sustainability throughout their business. This intelligence is fully utilized for the automotive industry, where TEXSPIN® is a trusted partner in developing innovative products and solutions to reduce CO2 emissions. The automotive industry is amid a major upheaval, largely due to technological advances towards greener mobility solutions such as all-electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. To achieve its environmental goals, TEXSPIN® must implement sustainable solutions while remaining cost-competitive in the face of broader global market constraints and prospects.
As a major supplier to the automotive sector, TEXSPIN® has prioritized the development of new products in many key areas to meet the sustainability demands of the global automotive market. TEXSPIN® offers new products and services for use in current and future vehicle platforms. Many low-friction composite bearing units and solutions for electric vehicles are currently being developed as products. TEXSPIN®’s goal is to significantly reduce friction losses and substantial improvement in NVH at a reasonable price, and the latest development is another step in that direction. TEXSPIN® develops knowledge-based solutions and services to help the automotive industry produce vehicles that contribute to a more sustainable future for all of us.
Q. Tell us something about your R & D set-up and efforts.
The strengths of TEXSPIN® are the tribology cultivated via bearing development, and the heat treatment, precision processing, and precision measurement required for bearing manufacturing. Since they minimize vehicle friction, pollutants, and fuel consumption, bearings are regarded as “green products.”
The continuous evolution of TEXSPIN® can be characterized as a quest for innovative techniques and breakthroughs to deliver solutions. This is supported by a research and development center, which assures a consistent flow of innovations to meet the high requirements of the automotive sector. The R&D center can accurately design, simulate, analyze, validate, test, and construct systems for a range of applications using the most recent software technologies.
The product life cycle model developed and tested by TEXSPIN® includes various design and analysis steps. These are well supported by CAD / CAM / CAE tools. FE analysis is a soft tool for calculating induced von Mises stresses and deflections in bearings under specified operating conditions. An important goal of these soft analyses is to reduce Hertzian contact stresses, since the rolling element – raceway interface is the most stressed area in the bearing. Building resilience in design requires everything from design strategy development to microgeometry investigation and analysis of each component.
The experience TEXSPIN® has in design, engineering, and technological advancements is the foundation of its performance and reputation. The innovative ideas and breakthroughs of TEXSPIN® have attributed to the company’s perpetual growth. TEXSPIN® is always evolving its products to the next generation to suit the needs of its customers.
In order to create a symbiotic relationship with our clients and become their thinking partners to find creative and innovative solutions to engineering and technological issues, the R&D center at TEXSPIN® is dedicated to becoming a development partner for our customers. Customized technological systems, components, and products are TEXSPIN®’s area of expertise. It is committed to serving as an innovative technology partner and solutions provider for the automobile and engineering sector. TEXSPIN® has been creating even more high-performance, energy-saving, lightweight, and compact products by utilizing its strengths in these technology areas. In addition to attaining long-term success, TEXSPIN® seeks to boost customer delight by providing ecologically sustainable products.
TEXSPIN® uses its automotive system experience to develop and produce client solutions for traditional internal combustion engines, hybrid drives, and completely electric drives. Furthermore, hydrogen and fuel cell technology show immense potential for the transportation of the future. The expanding need for chassis applications is being driven by the increasing automation of driving tasks, all the way up to completely autonomous vehicles.
To bring creative ideas to life, product design, analysis, prototyping, tool manufacture, testing, validation, and serial production are all employed. These projects are managed in an integrated way by professional project managers who are an intrinsic part of managing the activities, requirements, progress, and solutions for each project.
TEXSPIN® is committed to providing the most cutting-edge and professionally crafted products in the context of the evolving technological landscape and consumer expectations. Numerous patents are pending globally, including in Europe, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, India, Malaysia, and Mexico. Four of these patents have already been issued as an outcome of the significant research and development operations of TEXSPIN®.
The performance and lifespan of 21st-century bearings are anticipated to improve and extend under more rigorous conditions. To achieve these high standards, TEXSPIN® continuously investigates novel bearing designs or improves current ones while increasing microstructure utilizing tribological and surface engineering methods. In recent years, A new breed of mechanical systems that are extremely intelligent, exceptionally robust, and compact has emerged. The ability of these systems to function smoothly is dependent on the efficiency and longevity of the sliding and/or rolling bearings. While performance and effectiveness are maintained, downsizing will most certainly occur more quickly in the current period. The next generation of bearing systems may be able to outperform forecasts under more demanding and constrained working conditions.
TESTING AND VALIDATION
The TEXSPIN® testing and validation facility significantly enhances the company’s quest for innovative and improved technologies. Using specifically designed test solutions, we can conduct in-depth analysis of our major segments like clutch bearings, wheel & transmission bearings on our cutting-edge test rigs. These solutions cover everything from geometric behavior to operating stability, drive dynamics to the functional performance of clutches and their components. The Weibull analysis, which has been utilized for a very long period at TEXSPIN®’s reliability center, is the best method for determining the actual world and endurance of bearings. Both an internal test rig and vehicle-level testing are emphasized in bearing testing. Learning from experience is always a necessary part of improving a product. Weibull analysis is a critical technique that TEXSPIN® uses to always deliver solutions for products with high reliability metrics.
TEXSPIN® distinguishes itself by offering an end-to-end solution for all of its customers’ technological requirements. TEXSPIN® has highly skilled team and a cutting-edge facility for the development and manufacturing of special purpose machines, automated assembly lines, and testing and validation equipment.
“We serve customers in Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, which together account for more than 20% of our global business turnover at TEXSPIN®,” Dipen Makwana, Managing Director, Texspin
Q. You seem to thrive on customized solutions. Could you narrate a recent solution devised by you?
TEXSPIN® is known across the world for its clutch release bearing solution, which is a bespoke solution that represents a significant part of its product portfolio. Each clutch release bearing is specialized to its intended task, and we are one of the industry’s premier global solution providers. We have accelerated technological advancement in this product area by introducing the innovative and patented 3D self-centering clutch release bearing for automotive applications. TEXSPIN® has also pioneered the first-of-its-kind Hydro Pneumatic CSC, which will effectively reduce clutch pedal effort for larger commercial vehicles and provide truck and bus drivers with a smooth and fatigue-free driving experience. Not only that, it also provides a highly lightweight and compact solution, as well as several other important benefits, to the client by significantly enhancing the durability of the clutch, Master cylinder, release bearing, and other components.
TEXSPIN® is an industry leader in the manufacturing of specialized and highly customized products with a very modest number of global manufacturers and are supplying these parts primarily to the export as well as to domestic market. Wheel hub unit, patented Zero Drop Kingpin solution, pinion and differential bearing solution, 4-Point contact Zero clearance steering column bearing, Detent Pin & Patented stamped synchronizer sets, stamped clutch body ring patented stamped one-way clutch are certain niche technological products which are exclusively manufactured by TEXSPIN®.
TEXSPIN® is the leading manufacturer and supplier of suspension king pin bearings and shafts in the domestic automotive industry. It has used its technical expertise and decades of experience in research and development to create the patented “ZERO Drop Kingpin Assembly,” which is the newest innovation used in commercial vehicle axles. It enhances the assembly’s life and gives maintenance free solution. This technological breakthrough also diminishes wheel jerks and wobbling, ensuring significantly more comfort and a smooth driving experience.
Q. What are the major milestones in your journey spanning over six decades? How do you ensure customer delight every time? Who are your major customers?
We are an establishment with a rich history encompassing over six decades. Throughout this time, we have successfully accomplished many milestones, including being the first bearing manufacturing company, manufacturing the first automotive bearing in India, launching many niche products for the first time in India, receiving numerous customer accolades, and expanding our manufacturing capacity. However, we have enjoyed a highly exciting and profoundly gratifying 60 years of life and look forward to numerous milestones on our path ahead.
TEXSPIN®’s reputation has empowered them to be a technological partner to many automotive OEMs in India and all over the globe. Without naming any specific customers, I am absolutely delighted to state that we are one of the world’s most respected bearing and associated solution providers to the automotive industry, serving all the major manufacturers in the two and three-wheeler, passenger car, commercial vehicle, and tractor and construction equipment sectors.
Q. Bearings are high-tech, highly engineered products. What are your capabilities to produce these cutting-edge bearings?
TEXSPIN® concentrates on developing innovative and customized solutions through a product design process that includes conceptualization, simulation, validation, and productionizing using the most comprehensive modelling, analysis, and simulation technologies. To produce the highest-quality products that comply with global quality standards, TEXSPIN® employs meticulous quality checks and control procedures. To achieve our goal of Zero-Defect Supplies, we use quality control across the whole product development process. In order to provide highly competent products, TEXSPIN® offers cutting-edge technology in every aspect, including design, process, machine building, stamping, and testing technologies.
Sophisticated manufacturing technologies, special purpose machines (SPM), and testing and validation equipment are all necessary to create superior engineering products and solutions. TEXSPIN® has a distinct, strong competitive advantage, as well as a cutting-edge facility for the development and production of special purpose machines, automated assembly lines, and testing and validation equipment and rigs. TEXSPIN® has a dedicated testing and validation facility that assures all of its products are tested and validated in line with the strict automotive industry requirements. It enables our testing engineers to characterize, validate, and extensively simulate the operational aspects of the test rig.
TEXSPIN® uses in-house designed and developed automated production and assembly machines, and it has established its credibility in the manufacturing of sheet metal parts, engineering plastic injection molding parts, in-house capability of advanced tools and dies, and has developed advanced and innovative grinding and super finishing processes all under one roof. TEXSPIN®can produce robust solutions that exceed customer expectations with all of these high-end capabilities, validation software, and cutting-edge test rigs.
Q. You offer a plethora of Bearings for the automotive industry. What is your present range of manufacture?
TEXSPIN® is confident that the interaction between indigenous technology and global benchmark requirements can contribute to distinctive and customized technological solutions. TEXSPIN®’s passion for innovation through indigenous research and development for adapting global technologies to the rugged Indian conditions has carved out a niche for itself as a provider of unrivalled innovative solutions and products, predominantly to the automotive industry and other engineering industries.
Along with conventional ball, taper & Cylindrical bearings, brand TEXSPIN® is very intrinsically associated with the Clutch Release Bearing solutions. TEXSPIN® , in fact, has been at the forefront of technological advancement and upgradation in clutch release bearings, and has been working with almost all Indian automotive OEMs to bring about continuous technological improvement in the release bearing, commencing with the conversion of radial ball bearing technology to angular contact technology, self-centering technology to light weight combination technology, and the latest hydraulic, pneumatic and hydro – pneumatic release bearing technology ( CSC ).
TEXSPIN®’s continuous evolution is encouraged by its research and development center, which ensures a multitude of breakthroughs and patents in its name in order to meet the high standards established by the automotive industry. TEXSPIN® has built a comprehensive and knowledge – intensive Testing & Validation center over the years, which is a brilliant complement to its quest for New Technology & Innovation. We have evolved and diversified into the manufacturing of niche technological solutions such as advanced Clutch Release Bearings, Patented Self–Aligning Clutch Release bearing, Hydraulic Concentric Slave Cylinder, Pneumatic Concentric Slave Cylinder, Patented Hydro Pneumatic Concentric Slave Cylinder, Wheel End Technological solutions such as Unitized Taper Roller Bearings (generation 1, 2 & 3 ), Match Set Bearings, Wheel Hub Units, Pinion and Differential bearing solution like Unitized Preset bearing ( generation 1 & 2 ), Lifetime Sealed Kingpin bearings, Zero Drop kingpin solution, Patented Synchronizer solution, Intermediate Cones, Detent Pins, PatentedOne Way Clutch, Traction Rings, 4 Point Contact Zero Clearance bearing and many other customized Taper Roller bearings, Ball bearings and cylindrical Roller Bearings
Q. What are your growth strategies to take TEXSPIN® to greater heights?
We have highly ambitious development objectives and are now working on a 5-year growth strategy and plan. We have grown at a CAGR of more than 20% over the previous decade and intend to maintain this momentum ahead. We are also developing a variety of novel technological solutions that we intend to deploy over the next five years. E-mobility is an emerging and developing niche that we are perceiving attentively, not just as a commercial opportunity, but also to confidently equip that we can pass the torch to our next generation in a greener, pollution-free world that is a considerable better place to live in. As part of its ongoing growth strategy, TEXSPIN® has started taking measures to introduce its product to the railway bearing and industrial bearing sector.
