IRON ORE WAGON DOOR OPERATION

CUSTOMERAPPLICATION

The customer is a large builder of passenger trains, freight wagons and locomotives. By their nature, iron-ore wagons are heavy-duty objects that require equally heavy-duty operating equipment for their doors. The customer requirement was involved with this area of heavy-duty pneumatic actuation.

BUSINESSCHALLENGE

The customer required maximum product discharge from 100-tonne iron-ore wagons in the minimum amount of time and with minimal product 'hang-up', even in damp or wet environments and in demanding conditions. This would involve the use of 2 heavy-duty cylinders for each wagon with the maximum stroke length in a limited space, to ensure safe operation with a simple and robust valve system.

NORGRENSOLUTION

To meet this project specification, Norgren's design team engineered a specially fabricated steel 'D2' style rear mount on a 980 cylinder with a standard 'F' mount, giving an overall stroke length of 400mm with a retracted pin-to-pin length of 845mm. This was achieved without compromising the heavy duty nature of the system. A special valve system was also supplied allowing maintained door operation from either side of the wagon using just one 0.5" 5/2 spring return valve.

ENGINEERINGADVANTAGE

The solution provided by Norgren together with a clever door design which incorporated oversized doors, combined to provide a product discharge from the ore wagon of approximately 99.9% in less than six seconds. This offered the customer improved performance from a compact and effective actuation system.