With a year-on-year increase of 2.6%, the global railway industry is enjoying growth that is expected to be worth more than 180 billion euros by 2020, thanks to an increasing demand for both passenger and freight rail services.

Tooling manufacturer Dormer Pramet, which has a UK facility in Chesterfield, has for many years provided the industry with a wide range of cutting tools for both production and maintenance (www.dormerpramet.com).

Tomas Hantek, international applications manager (railway) at Dormer Pramet, says the company’s customers range from state-owned companies to private rail operators, adding that it develops cutting tools for a variety of rail-based applications — including the machining of rail switches and profiles, wheel sets, base plates and coupling mechanisms.

He says rail switches and crossings — the ‘moveable sections’ that guide trains from one track to another — have a limited lifespan that depends on numerous conditions, including level of usage and the environment.

“A rail switch made from new material has a standard guarantee of five years; for re-worked switches, the guarantee time is two years.

"Moreover, to ensure the reliability and safety of the switches, they must be ‘updated’ regularly to remain fully operational, which can be a huge undertaking.

"For example, the Czech Republic has one of the most extensive rail networks in Europe, with 9,000km of track and more than 25,000 switches.

“Dormer Pramet works with many leading manufacturers to offer both standard and custom tools to produce new railway switches, as well as renovate existing ones, and the company offers cutters for machining train and tram switches for all major rail profiles — including the 60E1 and 60E2 rail profiles that are the most common, especially in Europe.”

‘Wheel set’ machining

Most new ‘wheel sets’ are made from forgings, and they require the use of tools that maximise process reliability while also achieving a high-quality finish.

For both roughing and finishing operations, Dormer Pramet offers its range of RCMX inserts; these are available in numerous sizes and grades — as well as chip-breaker styles — to accommodate all relevant workpiece materials and cutting conditions.

As well as the manufacture of new wheels, there is a continuous need for wheel re-profiling, and Dormer Pramet offers tooling that is used by some of the market-leading manufacturers of re-profiling machines — including Hegenscheidt-MFD and Rafamet (since 1950, Hegenscheidt-MFD has installed more than 2,000 ‘wheel set’ re-profiling machines around the world).

Both companies offer special-purpose wheel lathes for railways, metros, trams and other light-rail transit systems, along with heavy-duty single- and double-column vertical turning lathes, large bridge-type milling machines, horizontal lathes and special machines.

For the renovation of railway and tramway wheels, Dormer Pramet has a standard assortment of inserts (LNMX, SNMX, CNMX), grades and chip breakers.

The company also offers a range of cartridges (with pocket protection) that accommodate depths of cut from 1.0 to 16.0mm.

A Dormer Pramet customer in Ukraine that was re-profiling railway wheels made of steel with a high hardness (450-615HB) used the LNMX30 insert with RF chip breaker and T9315 grade.

This tooling demonstrated a high level of durability and was significantly more productive than an equivalent insert from another supplier, machining 12 wheels compared to the competitor’s five.

Another success related to a Polish company that builds machines for ‘wheel set’ re-profiling. This customer wanted to resolve a chip-breaking issue when machining hardened steel (238-266HB).

Once again, the LNMX30 insert was used, this time with the TF chip breaker and T5315 grade. This combination achieved 50% longer tool life than a competitor’s offering; it also significantly improved chip-breaking on the perpendicular surface.

Dormer Pramet says its T5315 grade is a versatile option designed for turning grey and ductile cast iron, as well as various steels — including hardened steel.

It is suitable for roughing and finishing with medium to high cutting speeds and capable of both continuous and interrupted cutting.

Other areas of machining activity include: the production of the base plates that connect the rail to the railway tie or ‘sleeper’ (an operation that requires highly productive profile milling of ‘difficult’ materials); and the production of the coupler mechanisms that connect the rolling stock and drive unit.

There is a video showing Dormer Pramet’s capabilities for the railway industry on Machinery Market’s Web site (www.machinery-market.co.uk/video-archive.aspx).