Throughout the wheel end, engineers have designed components to work at optimum angles to one another. The brake shoe must sit squarely on the spider, creating an even foundation, from which the webs must sit at a 90 degree angle to the drum face. Similarly, for proper torque from the air chamber to the slack adjuster, there should be a 90 degree angle from the slack adjuster arm to the air chamber push rod, when cutting the rod.

These optimum angles are referred to as "brake geometry." They were designed and engineered into the braking system by Original Equipment Manufacturers, but brake geometry is often overlooked in the specification of aftermarket brake and wheel end parts.

SilverbackHD Products has introduced its line of GeoMetric Brake and wheel end components to support brake geometry from the shoe, to the brake hardware, to the S-cam, cam repair kit, slack adjuster and air chamber.

"If a fleet is truly interested in maintaining brake geometry, they have to look at all of their components with a critical eye," says John Kelvin, Vice President of Business Development for SilverbackHD Products of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

He maintains that the SilverbackHD GeoMetric new lined brake shoe is built with reinforced welding and harmonized heat treating on the anchor and cam ends so that it supports brake geometry where inferior new shoes or used relined shoes fail.

"It really is a simple proposition," he says, "the ends of the shoes are heat treated so that they don't mushroom and lose their critical geometry. The uneven loss of just 2mm of wear on the anchor or cam end can result in uneven friction and drum wear."

Making sure customers receive an even wearing of friction is important to SilverbackHD Products, says Kelvin. "These customers paid for 100% of their friction, so shouldn't they expect to get 100% of what they paid for?"

He goes on to say that when shoes have uneven wear, it can result in disproportionate heat load buildup in the wheel end which increases fleet maintenance costs.

But the shoe alone does not solve brake geometry issues. "You can have the best shoe in the world, but if your brake hardware is inferior it will also compromise brake geometry with flat spotting cam rollers, hanging return springs, and worn anchor pins."

SilverbackHD has designed its GeoMetric Series brake hardware to harmonize with the GeoMetric brake shoe under the company's proprietary Intentional Engineering® protocol. By matching engineering specifications of hardness on the shoe's cam ends and the the cam rollers, Intentional Engineering® removes costly repairs from the process.

SilverbackHD Products does not limit this Intentional Engineering to just the shoes and hardware kits either. The same hardness specifications found in the cam roller and cam end of the shoes, is also found on the head of the GeoMetric Series S-Cams.

"Fleets are really receiving this well," he adds. "Sure, they recognize the value of the engineering, but they also appreciate the common sense approach to giving them specifications they can depend on from one vendor.

"In these times where fleets are looking to do something different to control costs and maintain a competitive edge, restoring brake geometry with the SilverbackHD GeoMetric Series of intentionally engineered brake and wheel end components makes sense."