Plaxton, a division of Alexander Dennis, have achieved a whole new level of cabin refinement environment on it latest range of Euro 6 vehicles.
This is the culmination of a 12 month development programme between Ventac and Plaxton Engineering to deliver a quieter, more comfortable cabin environment for passengers.
A new, fully tailored Ventac acoustic insulation package has been employed within engine bay and under the cabin floor to efficiently limit noise penetration into the cabin with weight and fuel economy in mind.
The resulting design concept has been employed on all new Plaxton Euro 6 products and leads to an enviably comfortable touring experience for all passengers. Noise levels have been sizeably reduced by over 5dB compared to outgoing Plaxton models, whilst immeasurable improvements in sound quality deliver a relaxed passenger compartment isolated from the world outside.
The new Plaxton Euro 6 range is a giant leap forward which places Plaxton coach products squarely amongst the best in Europe for low cabin noise. The improvements have been achieved as a result of a well co-ordinated effort by Plaxton Engineering, involving joint contributions from Ventac and Volvo Engineering.
The new Euro 6 powertrain range from Volvo represents a momentous advance in refinement of commercial vehicle engines, most pertinent for bus and coach products. The new engines are noticeably quieter thanks to the development efforts of Volvo’s engineering team.  The new engine was a major step towards improved refinement, but being quieter than the competition, required more detailed and specialist development.
Ventac were more than happy to take up the challenge and thus supported Plaxton on integration of the Volvo chassis with the Plaxton embodied coach design. Existing Plaxton vehicles were benchmarked by Ventac to target areas for acoustic improvement, and from this an entirely new, whole-vehicle acoustic insulation concept was conceived.
The concept insulation scheme was further developed at Ventac acoustic laboratories to maximise the isolation of cabin from both engine bay and road noise with appropriately tuned acoustic materials. One significant design challenge overcome was the maximising of noise level reductions whilst dealing with the increased component temperatures and thermal loading that are inherent within Euro 6 engine bay installations. Particular attention was paid by Ventac and Plaxton to identifying and thermally insulating sensitive regions of the package.
The end result is a range of coaches delivering the renowned quality of Plaxton craftsmanship and coach building with a new, quieter, more refined passenger space befitting of the marque.
