Cummins Brings Disc Brakes for Single Rear-drive Axles at FDIC International 2026

Cummins Brings Disc Brakes for Single Rear-drive Axles at FDIC International 2026

Cummins Inc. [NYSE: CMI] today announced they will launch the QuikDisc™ Rotor for U-Series wheel ends at FDIC International, the premier event for fire and rescue professionals in North America. 

With QuikDisc, Cummins becomes the first manufacturer to offer air disc brakes for a single rear-drive axle at the 33,500 lb capacity rating used by heavy fire apparatus and introduces an industry-first patented two-piece hub design that fundamentally changes how disc brake rotors are serviced in the field.

The fire and rescue industry has steadily progressed toward disc brakes over recent decades, seeking shorter stopping distances and better fade characteristics under typically demanding conditions requiring fast travel to a scene and often hard or sudden stops upon arrival. Despite that demand, until now heavy single rear axles with ratings of 29,000 lbs and higher have remained drum-brake-only territory. The QuikDisc Rotor closes that gap, bringing the same Meritor EX+ H air disc brake already proven on front axles to the rear of these heavier vehicles for the first time.

The product also addresses a second, less-visible problem: the difficulty of replacing disc brake rotors in service. Conventionally, rotor replacement on a heavy axle requires removing the entire wheel end – hub, bearings and all. The assembly can weigh close to 200 lbs, making the job physically demanding. More significantly, it is a precision operation: the wheel bearings must be correctly adjusted, and the hub resealed after reinstallation, typically requiring three to four hours of downtime and multiple technicians. The QuikDisc two-piece hub design eliminates that process entirely. The hub stays on the axle and only the rotor and its mounting flange are removed, which is a far lighter assembly. A new rotor is then fitted to the flange, the assembly is slid back over the hub, and the fasteners are torqued up. There are no bearings to adjust and no seals to replace. A job that previously took three to four hours now takes under an hour and can be completed by one person. Rotor replacement now becomes broadly comparable in complexity to replacing brake drums – the operation fire departments are most familiar with.

The QuikDisc rotor accommodates both 11.25″ and 335 mm bolt patterns via an interchangeable flange, giving fire OEMs flexibility across their vehicle lines without the need to carry separate rotor inventory. Front and rear axle brake components share part numbers, further simplifying stocking and service procedures and reducing total cost of ownership across the fleet.

Cummins is currently conducting real-world validation testing of the QuikDisc in service with the Garden City Fire Department in Michigan. The product is targeted for new-production fire and rescue vehicles and planned for availability through OEMs in late 2027.

“The fire and rescue industry has been asking for disc brakes on heavy single rear-drive axles for years and until now, the answer has been no. QuikDisc changes that. For the first time, heavy fire apparatus OEMs can spec disc brakes across the full vehicle, front and rear, and at the 33,500 lb rear rating the heavy market actually needs. And because rotor replacement no longer means pulling the wheel end, departments get the performance of disc brakes while also reducing service time,” said Perumal Rengasamy, Senior Product Manager of Specialty Axles, at Cummins.

See the QuikDisc Rotor for U-Series wheel end at the Cummins booth 5585 at FDIC International, Indianapolis, April 23-25, 2026.

Cummins has launched the QuikDisc™ Rotor for U-Series wheel end, becoming the first manufacturer to offer air disc brakes for a single rear-drive axle at the 33,500 lb capacity rating used by heavy fire apparatus.

Cummins is currently conducting real-world validation of the QuikDisc™ in service with the Garden City Fire Department in Michigan.

With Quikdisc™, Cummins is introducing an industry-first patented two-piece hub design that fundamentally changes how disc brake rotors are serviced in the field.

With the QuikDisc™ two-piece hub design, the hub stays on the axle. Only the rotor and its mounting flange are removed – a far lighter assembly – a new rotor is fitted to the flange, the assembly is slid back over the hub, and the fasteners are torqued up.