Piedrafita Defence-Class Electronic Devices, Suspension, Steering and Braking Systems, Data Acquisition Systems and Electro-Hydraulic Test Benches and Actuators

Piedrafita is an engineering, consulting and production firm based in Madrid, Spain. The company, which was founded in 1987, originally provided racing vehicle engineering, but since 2000 has used this expertise to transition into the defence industry.

Today Piedrafita provides the human and technological resources required to design, engineer, test, manufacture and assemble prototypes and / or limited production series of small and / or high added value defence components, with 80% of its contracts coming from this industrial sector.

The company’s experience of working with the motorsports industry has given it a focus on innovation and quality, as well as the ability to work to tight deadlines, all of which are essential traits for working with the defence industry.

Design, engineering and production capabilities

Our multidisciplinary team of engineers’ previous focus on racing vehicle engineering has enabled us to offer a wide range of design services. Piedrafita’s capabilities include:

• Design and production of suspension, steering and braking systems for tracked and wheeled land platforms
• Design and production of defence-class electronic devices, with a specific emphasis on networked DC electrical high power units and networked displays
• Rugged networked data acquisition systems and instrumentation for mobile platforms
• Design and manufacture of purpose-built electro-hydraulic test benches and actuators

Military-standard defence products

All of Piedrafita’s products are manufactured to military or aeronautical standards, and the company has had an ISO 9001 quality system since 2000.

Current defence product portfolio currently in use on the GDELS ASCOD tracked land platform family:

• Heavy duty rotary dampers
• High power DC networked power management units (PDU)
• Rugged weather-proof exterior AMOLED CAN display unit
• Test platform data acquisition and logging systems

Our product range also includes subsystems on the SIAC 155/52 Howitzer family, including:

• Slave auxiliary wheel complete system (electrohydraulic drive-by-wire steering, gas suspension and self-blocking retractable layout)
• Cockpit electronic interconnection desk, including PDU DC power control

Turnkey systems and prototypes

Piedrafita’s design office is full-featured and project-focused with the latest CAD / CAM and calculation tools, as well as in-house prototyping and workshop capabilities. This enables us to not only provide cutting-edge drawings, but real turnkey systems. Piedrafita has also produced prototypes and low-volume series under client specifications, within our production / assembly capacities.

Leading provider for EU defence programmes

The company’s innovative but practical approach and level of expertise has led it to being awarded long-term contracts in some of the most prestigious defence programmes currently active in the EU.

Our research, development and innovation has also enabled us to take on a number of EU-backed R&D contracts from the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), Spain.

System engineering for European clients

Piedrafita is currently designing or has designed, engineered and / or provided solutions for several high-profile European customers, including:

• Steering and suspension systems
• Linear and rotary dampers
• Electro-hydraulic actuators
• Electronic control systems and closed-loop systems
• Instrumentation
• Engine management systems
• Network communication systems
• Solid state power controller units (PDU)
• CAN communication modules
• Data acquisition rugged loggers and sensors
• Test benches

Our current client base includes:

• MAN Truck & Bus, Germany
• General Dynamics European Land Systems – Santa Barbara Sistemas, Spain
• General Dynamics European Land Systems – Spezial Fahrzeuge Steyr, Austria
• PSA Peugeot Citroën Automobiles, France
• Fiat Powertrain Technology, Italy
• Magneti Marelli Holding, Italy
• Skoda Auto, Czech Republic

To find out more about Piedrafita’s products and services, please contact us using the details or form below.