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| Case
Study - RWE nPower Rail Clip Drill |
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Introduction |
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| In October 2003
Railcraft Associates Ltd was approached by RWE nPower (then
RWE Innogy) to produce a feasibility study into the design and
development of a rail clip drilling machine. Pandrol e-clips
are one of the most popular and successful rail fastenings in
the world and are used on all types of track sleepers. Periodic
removal of e-clips is necessary for track maintenance or replacement.
However, e-clip corrosion, particularly in tunnels and around
conductor rails can make removal difficult and very time consuming,
significantly increasing the cost of track maintenance. |
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Railcraft took the
concept and designed a machine around it, incorporating ergonomics,
anthropometrics, health and safety, maintenance, production,
reliability, efficiency and performance. The original pre-railcraft
prototype weighed in excess of 50kg, required a rail trolley,
cutting lubrication, hydraulic powerpack and genset and proved
extremely difficult in use. The Railcraft design is less than
25kg, requires no hydraulic powerpack, cutting lubrication or
trolley and can be rail mounted and set up – ready to
drill in minutes. |
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The Product |
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| The RWE Innogy clip
drill is a custom designed electrically powered high performance
twist drill for use different railways around the world. The
drill is used solely for the purpose of removing corrosion seized
Pandrol ‘E’ type rail clips. The design is fundamentally
based around ease of operation and lightweight portability,
whilst incorporating high mechanical and fatigue strength in
order that the job can be carried out quickly and efficiently
whilst on site. |
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The drill is powered by
a 1.8 kW MAB 800/1 AC Universal type motor, which is independently
torque and speed variable. The motor is directly attached to a grease
lubricated reduction gearbox that has two selectable settings –
hi and low. This gearbox in turn feeds a second gearbox which serves
the purpose of correcting the final output speed as well as offsetting
the motor from the output shaft. The second gearbox is oil lubricated
and a sight glass is provided to maintain the oil level. |
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The feed mechanism is
based upon an ergonomic single stroke design in order to give the
operator the best possible control over the drill tip whilst being
very lightweight as well as fully reversible for cutting in the reverse
mode. The large feed lever provides ample mechanical advantage for
the operator and is detachable for ease of stowage. Whilst the rest
of the feed has been designed with precision and reliability in mind
so that while the feed mechanism is smooth and free, the drill itself
is protected from operator overload. |
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The entire assembly
is designed specifically for quick installation and removal
from the work environment and quick release rail clamps are
integrated into the design for maximum operator safety. The
position of the drill bit is independently adjustable from the
rail clamps in order to cope with the wide variations in the
Pandrol ‘e’ clip housings and their base pre-manufactured
cast concrete sleepers. |
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