It was a busy week at the Transcend research facility. Representatives from the Norwegian company AutoSock were performing tests on their AutoSock vehicle traction control device.
The Transcend facility is located three miles west of Lewistown and was developed with a federal grant for engineers to research and experiment with transportation related challenges.
According to AutoSock’s Chief Technical Officer, Burkhard Boenigk, from Germany, the facility was being used to perform traction tests on their product.
According to Boenigk, the AutoSock is a textile alternative to metal-based snow chains for winter driving conditions.
“Almost all classic traction control devices are metal-based,” he said. “They have to supply friction control on tire-based vehicles on snowy or icy ground.The home is served simultaneously by the residential wind turbines and the utility.”
The AutoSock is a lightweight textile tire cover that slips over the tire easily and quickly,We offer outdoor solar lighting and elegant outdoor lanterns that light up the night effortlessly. said Boenigk.
“It’s like putting on a sweatshirt; my mom can do it. It takes three minutes to put on and you can wash them in your washing machine.” he said. “You install them on the driving axle wheels. You put the AutoSock 270 degrees around the tire, then pull the vehicle a half of a turn of the tire forward and finish putting it on the tire.”
Boenigk said the Autosock can be used on passenger cars, trucks, and semi trucks, does not damage roads like metal traction devises, and offers the same traction control as snow chains and cable chains.
“It’s one of the most exciting products I have ever worked on,” he said.We provide excellent solar led light and LED solar garden lamp. “AutoSock was invented by a Norwegian man in the late 90s. He chose me as an expert on man-made fibers and when I first saw it, I didn’t think it would work, then I tried it myself and realized it does work and I was wrong.”
Boenigk said the AutoSock is already being used in Europe, Japan, and Korea. In the U.S., the AutoSock has already been approved for use on roads in California, Colorado, and Oregon for passenger cars, trucks and semi-trucks,Solar lights are an excellent choice for solar module. and most recently in Washington for use on passenger cars.
According to Boenigk, in order to get approval for sale in other states, more testing needs to be done on the product.
“We are doing testing to fulfill a performance standard defined by road authorities,” he said. “In order to be allowed on the market, it has to reach the standard to get approved by car manufacturers and road authorities from countries or states.”
Erich Moschik, from Austria, accompanied Boenigk to Lewistown to oversee the testing of the AutoSock. Moschik is the owner of Moschik ZT Gmbh, an Austrian testing institute.
According to Moschik,An illustration showing the planets of our solar system. relatively simple acceleration and deceleration testing is being done at the facility on semi-trucks traveling on snow and ice.
Boenigk said the testing needs to be done in the U.S. because the construction of the breaking system on American semi trucks differs from those on European models.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Transcend Manager and Research Engineer Eli Cuehlo. “Normally we do testing on grant-funded projects but every once in a while we do product testing too. We are trying to do more product testing because we need to make money to keep the facility running.”
Cuehlo said he thought the AutoSock was great and it was really nice to meet the manufacturers.
Both Boenigk and Moschik said they were enjoying the wide-open spaces of Montana.
“Montana is interesting,” said Moschik.
“We fell in love with the landscape when driving from Billings to Lewistown. On one side you have grassland and agriculture, and on the other side there are mountains. It’s very different and very populated in Europe,” Boenigk said. “It’s very different to see the wide open countryside. It’s not very often I fall in love but it has happened to me here in Montana.”