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INTERNSHIP REPORT
On
Submitted by :
Archana. A 1DS13IM001
Divyashree. S 1DS13IM010
Padmashree. S 1DS13IM027
Soundarya. S 1DS13IM046
2
Acknowledgment
Our experience during the internship wouldnt have been complete without
the help of several people. It gives us a great sense of pleasure in acknowledging
the support and help of the officers, supervisors, operators and the staff of Rail
wheel factory.
With immense gratitude we wish to thank Dr. C.P.S. Prakash (Principal of DSCE,
Bangalore) and our Head of the Department, Dr. H. Ramakrishna, who helped us
to get an opportunity to intern in this prestigious factory.
We would also like to thank the operators in shop floor of RWF who helped us to
complete our training and guided us with great spirit.
Lastly, we extend our gratitude to our families for their support without whom it
would have only remained a dream and we also thank all those who have directly
and indirectly helped us to complete this internship successfully.
3
Abstract
Till early 1980s Indian Railways was importing about 55% of requirement of
wheels and axles. Indigenous capacity was available only at Tata Iron & Steel
Company [TISCO] and Durgapur Steel Plant [DSP]. The TISCO plant was technically
not capable of meeting the changing requirement of wheels and axles for the new
designs of rolling stock and production was discontinued. DSP was only able to
partially meet Indian Railways needs. In the early 1970s the Railway Ministry felt
the necessity for setting up a new specialized Production Unit for manufacture of
rolling stock wheels and axles as import substitute.
Table of Contents
7. M Lab 57-76
8. EMMS 77-80
9. Spectro Lab 81-83
10. Conclusion 84
11. Bibliography 85
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Introduction
The unit was started by C. K. Jaffer Sharief, the then Railway Minister, who got
this project to Bangalore. It was commissioned to manufacture wheels and axles
for the Indian Railways.
This factory uses cast steel technology in the manufacturing of wheels which
utilizes scrap steel collected from Railways' own workshops as raw material. The
products that are manufactured at RWF are wheels, Axles and wheel sets. They
are engineered with little scrap for human errors. It has a planned capacity to
manufacture of about 2,00,000 wheels of different sizes, 1,00,000 axles and to
assemble 70,000 wheel sets. It was the first unit of Indian Railways to receive ISO
9001:2008 accreditation.
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RWF produces an axle every five minutes. The Plant converts steel blooms to
axles through a series of forging, heat treatment and machining processes.
Blooms cut to the required sizes are heated in Rotary Hearth Furnace up to 1200
degree C. These are carried to the precision Long Forging machine where the
hammers convert billets into the required shapes through CNC. The Forging
Machine having multiple hammers is used to get required sizes of forgings. After
end cutting, the rough forged axles are subjected to heat treatment in
normalizing and tempering furnaces. Rail Wheel Factory is having two axle
machining lines which are CNC machines to convert these forgings to the axle.
RWF converts BOX N, Coaching and Container Axles to wheel sets. Loco axles are
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generally sent in rough turned condition to the Production Units and Railways
workshops for converting to wheel sets.
RWF is having a highly automated wheel set assembly complex supplied by M/s.
Simmons Machine Tool Corporation, USA. Wheel seat sizes of machined axles are
measured and wheels received from wheel shop are bored according to this size.
The precision borers ensure that the final bores have required interference with
the individual axles. After boring, the wheels are carried through automated
conveyors to the assembly complex along with axles and wheels are pressed one
after another. The force required in pressing the wheels is recorded automatically
to ensure that the pressing force is within the laid down limits.
Wheel Shop
Scrap
Scr Charging Melting Spectro-Analysis
Wheel Shop
The Wheel Shop is the first unit of RWF. The wheels enable the train to move
along the rails of the track. On an average, a wheel weighs about 500 kgs. The
RWF produces eight different types of wheels having different composition,
requirements and dimensions. The wheel shop recycles metals from the scrap
yard and adds required resources to obtain the right composition for producing
wheels. Later the melt is used for moulding to obtain the basic geometry of
wheel. It undergoes various machining, finishing processes and inspection tests to
conform to customers requirements.
1) Melting
2) Moulding
3) Finishing (WFPS)
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MELTING
Scrap conditioning :
Scraps are the basic additions to manufacture the wheels.
They may be:
Rejected wheels
Rejected axles
Used axles and worn out wheels
Chips formed during machining processes
The scraps are divided into three types machine chips, light metals and
heavy metals. This sectioning is important because during the initial melting
process in the electric arc furnace, the distribution of heat is not uniform.
The bucket charging distribution is such that from bottom to top; heavy,
light and machine chips. This arrangement will prevent major fire spewing,
scrap bridging, and scrap collapse when the arc is setup.
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Charging of scrap:
It can be simply defined as addition of scrap along with materials such as
lime stone, calcined lime and coke/graphite to the furnace.
Brief procedure
The electrodes are raised and an electromagnet via an EOT
(Electric Overhead Traveling) crane transfers machine chips
and some lights scraps into the furnace.
Bucket charging of scraps in the required order is done. The
bucket opens from the bottom. The heavier metals are on the
top, then the light and the machine chips.
Charge approximately 9000 to 1200 kgs calcined lime and 200
to 250 kgs coke/graphite.
Melting of scrap:
The furnace used for melting is an electric arc furnace. RWF wheel shop
contains three electric arc furnaces named A, B and C. They operate the
same way and only in C; its tap hole order differs from A and B. The
capacity of each furnace is 20-23 Metric Tons.
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The three electrode electric arc furnace heats charged material by means of
an electric arc. It consists of a refractory-lined vessel (Alumina bricks),
usually water-cooled in larger sizes, covered with a retractable roof, and
through which one or more graphite electrodes enters the furnace. The
furnace is primarily split into three sections:
Brief procedure
Removal of slag:
During the Oxygen lancing, slag is eliminated through the slag door.
Brief procedure
Dolomite is spread over the cleaned slag door.
Remove full slag before the temperature is 1630 C.
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Spectro analysis:
The testing of sample that has to be further used or subjected for wheel
manufacture is done at the spectro lab. The sample (solidified metal) for
testing is obtained from the electric arc furnace to determine the
composition of various metal constituents within the required range.
Carburisation/Decarburisation:
A sample of melt is taken for testing a percentage composition of C
(Carbon), Si (Silica) and Mn (Manganese). These may differ from the fixed
required percentage. Addition of materials to bring the composition to the
fixed percentages may either be done by carburization or decarburization.
Brief procedure
CARBURISATION, if the carbon content is founded to be lesser,
required amount of Graphite is added when the electrodes are
just inside the bath at 1640 C and the sample is taken.
DECARBURISATION, if the carbon content is more, slag coated
Oxygen lancing pipe is introduced to reduce Carbon content;
based/depending on carbon to be reduced Oxygen is supplied.
The controlling content for this process are Ferro-manganese,
Silica-manganese and Ferro-silicon.
Mix the bath thoroughly. After 3-4 minutes of arcing, take
another sample for testing.
Tapping:
It is the process of pouring the melt from the furnace into the ladle (melt
carrying container) by tilting the base of the furnace.
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Brief procedure
The ladle is prepared for tapping process and brought to the
furnace through EOT crane.
Add required amount of Ferro-silicon, Ferro-manganese or
Silicon-manganese into the ladle after the ladle preparation.
The tapping temperature should be between 1660 C to 1720
C.
The base of the furnace is tilted and tapping of the metal
starts.
The ladle is adjusted so that the metal stream falls at the
center of the ladle and not on the side walls.
Tapping is completed within 3 to 4 minutes to avoid
temperature loss.
After tapping, the ladle is carried to the JMP (John Mohr Pit).
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MOULDING ROOM
16
Brief procedure
Wait till the temperature is lesser than 1610 C.
When the temperature is around 1560 to 1610 C, immerse
the Aluminum stars. The Aluminum stars are used to prevent
change in composition of the melt.
A sample is taken for testing, this acts as the final analysis for
the required/fixed composition.
Ladle insulation material is sprinkled into the ladle to maintain
temperature.
The ladle is taken for insertion of the ceramic pipe.
*NOTE: The ceramic pouring tube is fixed on a cover and it takes around 1 day
for preparation because it has to withstand high temperatures of the melt.
This is done in a Pouring Tube Section. The roof is lifted and lowered 2 to 3
times for the pouring tube to get accustomed to the heat. This process
prevents cracking of the pouring tube.
Casting process:
The casting process uses controlled pressure pouring process through
which the melt rises in the ceramic pipe and fills the cavity of the
approximate desired shape. This technique contains cope and drag system.
They are made up of Graphite material.
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Brief procedure
The ladle containing the molten metal placed in JMP is brought into
the place of pouring and Ladle Insulation Material powder is sprayed
into molten metal to prevent temperature loss.
The cope and drag assembly is placed on the covering of the ladle
which contains a center circular hole. This hole houses the ingate
through which molten metal gets into the cope-drag assembly.
The liquid metal with high air pressure comes out of the ladle
through the ingate. A sensor prevents overflow of melt i.e.; graphite
stopper plunges the bottom of the drag and prevents the further
flow of liquid metal from ladle into cavity. It also prevents the liquid
metal flowing back to the ladle from the cavity.
An asbestos gasket is used as a sealant between drag and pouring
tube to prevent bleeding of liquid metal and also airation. One gasket
is used for each cast wheel.
Once the mould is prepared it is subjected to 9 to 10 minutes of
solidification. Solidification may be defined as allowing the metal to
cool and solidify.
After solidification, the cope and drag assembly is split and the cast
wheel is obtained.
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The cope is clamped and lifted gently. Sometimes, wheel sticks to the
cope so the crane moves up and down over the drag controlled by
the operator.
The wheel is placed in hot wheel kiln where it is subjected to
controlled air cooling. The cycle time is 32 minutes and 33 wheels can
be accommodated.
The cope and drag are sent back separately for cleaning and
preparation.
*NOTE: The pouring of each wheel takes about 80seconds. For one heat 32 to
33 wheels can be casted. And a cope-drag assembly can be used for 20 to 25
wheels.
Once the metal is poured paddy husk is added to the assembly through riser
holes to prevent sudden drop in temperature of molten metal which otherwise
would produce cracks/flaws in the surface of wheels.
The important parameters are pouring time, metal initial and final
temperature, pouring rate splitting time, wheels offloaded and riser weight.
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Sprue washing:
Brief procedure
After the controlled air cooling, the wheel coming out of the
kiln is at a temperature of about 400 to 500 C.
After sprue washing, the wheels are stamped where the wheel
and heat numbers are stamped using a stamping machine. This
is called stamping.
Hub cutting:
The center portion of the wheel where the axle fits in is called the hub. To
produce this hub of required diameter, hub cutting is carried out. The
mixture of oxygen and LPG gas flame coming out of the nozzle at high
pressure and velocity is used for hub cutting.
Brief procedure
The hole is initially cut for a diameter lesser than the required
during this process using hub cutting machine.
The average hub diameter is 188mm for BOX-N.
The part of the stopper pipe inserted during casting remains
inside the cast wheel after being cut at both the edges. This is
called pilot hole.
The hole is initially cleaned using pneumatic air.
The gas flame is directed to the pilot hole and moved along the
radius and finally moved in a circular shape.
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*NOTE: If the hub cutters are under breakdown, wait till the temperature is
lesser than 265C , load them into normalizing. The temperature for hub
cutting is between 265-400C.
The quality parameters are dimensional range of hub cut, details of hub not
fallen/ pilot hole block, non-conforming wheels, O2 + LPG .
Normalizing:
Normalizing is defined as a heat treatment process to heat the metal above
the critical temperature, holding for a period of time long enough for
transformation to occur and air cooling. In general, it is to bring or return to
a normal or standard condition or state. Normalizing helps to maintain
proper grain size.
Brief procedure:
The wheels after hub cutting are sent into the rotary hearth
furnace for normalizing process.
The rotary hearth furnace used for normalizing has 7 zones.
First three zones are called as heating zones where the outer
layer of the wheel and a few inner layers get heated.
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The next four zones are called soaking zones wherein the heat
spreads uniformly including the core of the wheel.
The temperature maintained in the furnace is between 890 to
960 C.
The fuel used in rotary hearth furnace is high speed diesel.
Each wheel remains in the furnace for a duration of 90 minutes
and 45 wheels in 2rows can accommodated inside the furnace.
The outer and inner walls of the furnace remain stationary
whereas the hearth inside rotates with the help of rack and
pinion gear.
The temperature of the wheel coming out of the furnace is
greater than 800 C.
Quenching:
It is a stage of material processing through which a metal is quickly brought
down to lower temperature from a high temperature by rapid cooling.
During the movement of the train the outer portion of the wheel called the
rim is in contact with the rail and hence it is this portion that is subjected to
more wear and tear. Therefore, to increase the hardness of the rim, rim
quenching is performed. Water is the medium for quenching.
Brief procedure
The wheels coming out from the normalizing furnace are
subjected to rim quenching wherein high pressure jet of water
with 2.5 to 3.5 kg/cm2 pressure is made to fall only on the rim
portion of the wheel for about five minutes.
This increases the hardness of the rim portion up to a depth of
5 to 8mm.
The temperature of the water for rim quenching is 18 to 35 C.
Tempering :
Since the wheels are manufactured by casting process, there are chances of
internal stresses being introduced in the interior of the wheel. These
stresses are very dangerous and may also damage the wheel during
working. In order to remove these stresses from the wheel, they are sent
into the draw furnace where the wheel undergoes tempering process.
Brief procedure
Each wheel once entered the draw furnace remains inside for
around 2.5 hours.
The draw furnace in RWF is run using high speed diesel and has
a capacity of 80 wheels.
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Hub cooling:
During the assembly of the wheels with axles there are chances of crack
formation in the hub portion. Hence, this portion needs to be hardened.
This hardening of the hub portion is done by quenching process. This stage
contains a conveyor belt thats consists 3 hub coolers.
Brief procedure
The wheels coming out of draw furnace is subjected to hub
cooling in three regions upper, middle and the inner portion
of the hub is cooled separately.
The time taken in each of the region is 45 seconds.
High jet of water having a pressure of 2.5 kg/cm2 is sprayed on
the interior of the hub during this process.
The hub portion becomes harder hence reducing the chance of
crack.
The wheel after hub quenching has a rough surface and is air-
cooled.
The wheels need not be air-cooled separately, they are sent into stack yard
for cooling for about 60 minutes.
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The finishing in the wheel shop happens in the Wheel Final Process Shop (WFPS).
The wheels stored in the stack yard have a rough uneven surface. These wheels
need to be cleaned and finished before its usage. This cleaning, finishing, and
certain test is conducted in this cleaning shop.
Apex grinding:
Since the wheels are casted in cope and drag assembly, there is extra
material along the parting line. To eliminate the extra material, apex
grinding is performed.
Cleaning:
The surface of the wheel may contain dirt, ashes and even dust particles
formed during storing; also the wheels contain scales formed during heat
treatment process.
To remove the unwanted dust and obtain a clean surfaced wheel, cleaning
is performed.
Brief procedure
It contains three roto blasts through which high velocity starch are
made to strike the surface of the wheel.
25
Due to the impact of these particles, the surface dust present on the
wheels gets removed due to the abrasive action.
Hence the surface cleaned wheel is obtained after the cleaning
process.
Magnaglo testing:
This is a fluorescent magnetic particle inspection method. This test is
conducted for detecting surface cracks.
Brief procedure
The cleaned wheels enter a dark room. Magnaglo powder uses water
as a suspension medium. This is poured on the wheel.
The black light (with wavelength of 365 nm) is switched on and the
magnaglo fluoresces bright yellow-green. The operator checks for
fine surface and sub-surface discontinuities. A crack can be detected
when the magnetic particles accumulate around it and it glows
bright.
The operator uses radium chalks to indicate cracks. Further on, these
will be grinded.
Ultrasound testing:
Ultrasound testing (UT) is a family of non-destructive testing techniques
based on the propagation of ultrasonic waves in the object or material
tested. This test is performed to detect interior defects/flaws.
Brief procedure
The wheel is directed for ultrasound testing.
The wheel spins with its bottom in water. The sensors
underwater emit a pulse waves with center frequencies
ranging from 0.1 to 15 MHz
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Warpage testing:
The wheels during casting and heat treatment process remains at high
temperature. During this temperature there are chances of wheel
undergoing little bending. But this bending of wheels above certain limits is
undesirable for the working of the wheel.
Warpaging is a process in which these bends are detected and if it exceeds
the limit, they will be rejected.
Brief procedure
Receive wheel for warpage measurement.
Pass wheel for warpage if warpage reading is lesser than
1.0mm for all wheels.
The warpaging includes the balancing of wheels from which
the defects relating to the shape of the wheels can be
detected.
If the detected defects in the shape like bending of wheels etc.
are more than the limiting value, wheels are rejected.
SHOT PEENING:
Shot peening is a cold working process used to produce a compressive
residual stress layer and modify mechanical properties of metals and
composites. It entails impacting a surface with shot with force sufficient to
27
create plastic deformation. This process uses steels shots for peening cast
iron wheels of hardness 255 to 363 BHN.
Brief procedure
Steel shots are made to strike on the wheel at high speeds.
In case there are any cracks, the steel shots strike the cracks at high
velocities and fill the gap and help remove the defects.
Each wheel undergoes this process for 1 minute on an average.
Brief procedure
Cleaning stage:
After splitting the cope and drag, they are sent separately for their
preparation. The cope and drag are first sent to their respective
tilting machines where loose particles of dust fall out as they rotate.
An operator uses compressed air at high pressure to blow out the
remaining dust.
The receiving temperature for blowing compressed air is 245-325C.
Cope baking:
The cope is coated with resin and baked in an oven. After cope baking, the
cope is cleaned by sand blasting.
Cope spraying:
Fused Silica Powder are mixed with additives of CMC and Veegum
powder to prepare mould spray. This spray is used for coating the
mould which serves as an emulsion stabilizer, suspending agent and
binder.
Check adhesion with adhesion tester whose acceptable range is from
50-65 PSI.
There are three spray guns. The quantity for BOX-N that is used for
each region is as follows:
Plate 185ml
Hub 125ml
Rim 170ml
Drag spraying:
A spray mixture tank is used for mixing the fused silica powder along
with additives to prepare the mould spray.
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When the temperature is above 245C, the drag enters the spray
room and the cooling fan is put on.
The baume value for spray quantity from the two spray guns range
from 39 to 41.
Spray tank pressure 8 to 10 PSI
Atomizing pressure 40 to 65 PSI
The drag is later sent to the MHO (Mould Holding Oven) waiting for
pouring.
Spray quantity for BOX-N
Hub 125 ml
Plate 175 ml
Rim 175 ml
Stopper fitting:
An operator assembles the parts of the stopper pipe before fixing it
on to the cope.
When the cope is received, the operator checks for the spray
pattern.
If satisfied the stopper pipe assembly fixes onto the cope.
In the end, the operator fixes the stapple to avoid any slipping of
stopper pipe.
The cope is later sent to the oven to wait for pouring.
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The consumables used in the wheel shop can be either used directly to
manufacture the wheels (eg: Coke/Grahite, Ferro-silicon, etc.) or indirectly used
to help manufacture the wheels
ingate-retaining ring. As the mould is reused, after each casting the ingate is
reamed using grinding stone for proper seating of the clay graphite stopper in the
stopper seat.
use in high sensitivity wet method magnetic particle inspection using water as
suspension vehicle. It is used to locate fine surface and sub-surface discontinuities
such as cracks, inclusions, seams, shrinkage porosity, tears, laps flakes etc., in cast
steel wheels for Rail road application.
680
660
Average wheels cast per day
641
640
620
600
13-14 14-15 15-16
22.75 22.62
2013-2014
2014-2015
20.79
2015-2016
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Wheel Rejection %
5.93 6.083
15-Apr
6.13
7.51 15-May
15-Jun
7.31 15-Jul
15-Aug
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Axle Shop
Axle Shop
The Axle shop is the second unit of RWF. An axle is a central shaft for a rotating
wheel. RWF produces an axle every 5 minutes. Rail Wheel Factory is having three
axle machining lines out of which 2 are CNC machines to convert these forgings to
the axle. RWF converts BOX N, Coaching and Container Axles to wheel sets. Loco
axles are generally sent in rough turned condition to the Production Units and
Railways workshops for converting to wheel sets. RWF produces 16 Axels
according to the requirement. The Plant converts steel blooms to axles through a
series of forging, heat treatment and machining processes. Blooms cut to the
required sizes are heated in Rotary Hearth Furnace up to 1200 degree Celsius.
These are carried to the precision Long Forging machine where the hammers
convert billets into the required shapes through computerized control program.
The Forging Machine having multiple hammers is used to get required sizes of
forgings. After end cutting, the rough forged axles are subjected to heat
treatment in normalizing and tempering furnaces. It undergoes machining,
finishing and inspection tests to satisfy the customer requirements.
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The railway axle is a long, thick cylindrical rod made up of alloy steel and weighs
about 500 kg. The axles mainly consist of 4 parts body, wheel seat, dust guard
and journal. Major portion of the axle is the body whose length is fixed and is
equal the distance to be maintained between two parallel wheels. Hence, the
length of the body which is the center portion of the axle varies for different types
of axle. The portion of the axle where the wheels of the train is fixed is the wheel
seat. The curved portion between the wheel seat and the journal is the dust
guard. The two ends of the axle after the dust guard is journal. The journal is the
main portion which is required in a perfect smooth finished surface state. The
bearings of the train wheels occupy this place.
The axle shop is divided into three portions and they are:
Forging shop
Machining shop
Assembly shop
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FORGING SHOP
Billet cutting :
The long bar with square cross section is called a bloom and they are cut
into small length pieces by gas welding. The blooms are obtained from
Durgapur (SAIL), Maharashtra (MUSCO) and Pune (Kalyani forging) steel
plant. The billet cutting machine is an automated machine and it takes
three minutes to cut a billet from a bloom. The fuel used is a mixture of
Oxygen and LPG.
According to the various cross section area, the axle are divided into the
following types:
Brief procedure
The bloom is carried in a conveyor to the billet cutting
machine.
The operator marks the points at which the flame cutting will
take place. The marking depends on the type of axle to be
manufactured.
The machine is switch ON and the gas flame of O2 and LPG at a
suitable pressure is directed on the work piece and cutting
operation is performed. The cutting is based on length to
weight ratio.
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Heating :
Heating of billets is done in Rotary Hearth Furnace (RHF).
The billet after being cut must be heated so that it can be forged. The RHF
having four furnaces namely preheating zone, heating zone, soaking zone
I and soaking zone II is used for heating the billets to a temperature of
1200 C.
Zone Total no of
burners
Preheating 6
Heating 9
Soaking I 3
Soaking II 2
Total 20
Brief procedure
A robot arm inserts the billet into the RHF. The billet enters the
preheating zone where the heating process begins.
The billet moves into the heating zone. This zone takes the
longest time.
41
In the soaking zone I and II, the heat is spreads to the core of
the work piece.
The RHF has a capacity of 80 billets and the cycle time is 6.5
hours.
*NOTE:
Forging :
Brief procedure:
*NOTE: The cycle time of the process ranges from 4.5-5 minutes per axle.
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SPECIFICATIONS:
1.Force 800tons
2.Eccentric stroke(hammer 14mm
length)
3.Stroke 270strokes/min
4.Hydraullic pressure 90-100bar
5.Lubricant pressure 5bar
6.Damping pressure 80bar
7.Ring space pressure 70-80bar
End Cutting:
The metal cutting process used in the removal of excess material at the
ends to obtain metal component with required dimensions is termed as
end cutting. During the forging process, the billet deforms to the required
axle shape, and since at the ends the material is deformed and in an
irregular shape, it needs to be eliminated. Thus, end cutting is done.
Basic procedure:
The forged axles after forging is subjected to end cutting process
termed as Axle end cutting.
High flame gas of oxygen and LPG mixture from the nozzle with a
diameter of about 25mm at high pressure is forced on both the
sides hence the removal of metal.
The cycle time of the process is less than a minute due to high
temperature of the forged axle.
The high temperature axles are now subjected to normal Air
cooling process, wherein the axles are arranged in an open area
hence the cooling takes for about half an hour duration.
44
Heat Treatment:
Normalising :
It consists of heating steel about 40-50C above its upper critical
temperature and if necessary holding it at that temperature for a
short time.
Brief procedure:
Once the axles are air cooled, they are sent into the normalizing
furnace.
These axles are placed on the base of the furnace and fire is set
on the sides of the furnace. The fuel used is High Speed Diesel.
Around 90 axles can be accommodated in the furnace.
Normalizing furnace consists of three zones namely pre-heating,
heating and soaking.
The cooled axles regain their grain structure by the end of
normalizing process.
The type of structure obtained will depend largely on the
thickness of cross section as this will affect the rate of cooling.
Thin sections will give a much finer grain than thick sections.
45
Quenching :
It is simply defined as sudden cooling of heated metal by dipping in
cooling agent or spraying cooling agent in order to obtain the work
piece in a stable state which induces certain properties like hardness
etc to the work piece.
Brief procedure:
Not all types of axles require quenching.
Only a few types of diesel axles are quenched in quenching agent.
The quenching agent used is a mixture of polymer oil and water in
the ratio 1:20.
The quenching agent is present in a tank about 10 feet depth
where quenching takes place.
Quenching is done for about 25-30 minutes depending on the
carbon content present in the material of the particular axle. It is
done for 4 to 5 axles at a time.
The axles which do not require quenching are sent directly to
tempering furnace after normalizing. Diesel axles are sent into
tempering furnace after quenching.
Tempering :
Tempering is a heat treatment technique applied to ferrous alloys,
such as steel or cast iron, to achieve greater toughness by decreasing
the hardness of the alloy. The reduction in hardness is usually
accompanied by an increase in ductility, provides softness and
machineability to the metal thereby decreasing the brittleness of the
metal.
46
Brief procedure:
Axles enter the tempering furnace where they are heated below
their critical temperature in order to achieve softness so that they
can be machined with ease.
The tempering furnace also consists of three zones i.e.; pre-
heating, heating and soaking. Heating is done at around 600 to
650C.
Around 118 axles can be placed in the tempering furnace.
Tempering reduces internal stresses in the axles which may have
induced during heating, forging or quenching.
Those axles which have acquired the required composition and
properties are sent to the axle machining shop for machining
while others are sent back for re-heating.
Sampling:
After tempering, the axles are cooled for 24 hours and then taken for
testing. The axle is taken for destructive testing where it is cross-sectioned
and checked if it is suitable for operating and its other functions.
End milling can be defined as removal of metal with the help of rotating
end mill. An end mill is a type of milling cutter, a cutting tool used in
industrial milling applications. It is distinguished from the drill bit in its
application, geometry, and manufacture. While a drill bit can only cut in the
axial direction, a milling bit can generally cut in all directions, though some
cannot cut axially.
And end mill is a multi-point cutting tool. Because the forged axles undergo
various hat treatment processes, it has excess length. This must be cut with
little amount of tolerance for further machining.
47
Brief procedure
The end mill cutter has a number of inserts which does the
actual cutting job. The axle is brought close to the end mill and
machined.
It consists of two chucks each powered by a motor. They
remove 0.7 mm of material from each side.
The inserts that are used for milling have four cutting edges
and are made of Carbide. Each edge may be used for operating
60 axles.
Then it is switched to another set of two chucks that is again
powered by a motor (each). The same set of chucks performs
both centering and cup turning.
Centering is done for a hole diameter of 28mm (Box-N axle)
Cup turning is done for a diameter of 148mm(Box-N axle)
Ultrasound inspection :
Ultrasound inspection is done to detect internal defects.
This inspection is done from one face to another. After calibrating the ultra
sound flow detector the couplant is applied to obtain proper coupling for
conductance. On inspection, of the axle does not meet the conditions even
after heat treatment, the axle is rejected.
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Brief procedure
The axle is divided to four sections 1, 2, 3 and 4. 1 and 4 for
the body. 2 and 3 for journal.
Rollers are used for long turning to avoid vibrations.
After lifting rollers, channels 1 and 4 take place.
Coolant is not used in this process since carbide inserts are
used.
15 axles can be machined with the same insert for journals and
8 to 10 axles can be machined in case of longer lengths.
After rough turning of the axle, threaded holes are drilled at the two end
surfaces in order to fix the bearing to the axle.
A countersink is a conical hole cut into a work piece. It is used to allow the
dead center to support the axle for further machining processes.
Brief procedure
An overhead crane transfers the rough turned axle to station 3.
Prior to the operation the pitch circle diameter (PCD) and the
angle at which the holes are to be drilled is checked.
The axle is subjected to drilling operation where the drill bit is
held in the chuck of the machine and is rotated by a spindle at
high speeds of 198 rpm.
The drill bit is forced to move against the rigidly clamped axle.
In the case of BOX-N axles three holes are drilled at an angle of
120o and 22.5 mm drill by the sharp cutting edges of the
rotating drill bit.
Excess material removed (i.e; chips) gets curled and escapes
through the helical grooves provided in the drill bit.
Countersinking is done with the help of a countersink tool of
conical shape for the axles to be supported.
To perform the tapping operation the tool held rigidly in the
spindle is rotated at a speed of 90 rpm. The rotating tap is fed
slowly in the hole of axle to cut the material and produce
threads.
During the tapping process, eight threads are formed for each
inch.
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Brief procedure
Bypass the axles that have defects. The type of rejections maybe
journal undersize, dust guard undersize, wheel set undersize and
body undersize.
The process consists of two channels.
CH1: T1 Journal
T3 Body
T5 Wheel seat
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CH2: T4 Journal
T2 Body
T6 Wheel seat
The axle is rotated at a speed of 350 rpm and the operation is carried
out at a feed rate of 0.66 mm/rev.
The coolant used during the process is servo oil mixed with water.
And the cycle time is 20 minutes.
Change the inserts when required.
Brief procedure
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Two grinding wheels are kept on both the ends at an angle of 45o to
finish both the sides of the axles. They operate one after the other.
The work piece (axle) comes near to the wheel and gets fixed.
The high speed grinding wheel rotating at 1240 rpm approaches the
axle due to which very fine material layer is removed from the axle
due to the action of abrasive particles fixed on the grinding wheel. In
the same manner the other side of the axle is also finished.
The time taken for grinding one axle is 8 to 8.5 minutes.
*NOTE : The tool used here is a diamond wheel dresser of 700 mm diameter.
The depth of cut lies between 0.12 to 0.125 mm.
Magnaglo testing :
Brief procedure
The operator uses a pipe that consists of magnetic flux powder
and carrier oil to wet the axle.
The axle under the black light fluoresces bright yellow green.
Due to accumulation of magnetic flux in cracks, they appear
brighter.
The magnetizing time before switching on the black light is 20
seconds.
If the crack is lesser than 21.88 mm, the axle is passed
otherwise it is rejected.
Ultrasonic testing :
Ultrasound testing (UT) is a family of non-destructive testing techniques
based on the propagation of ultrasonic waves in the object or material
tested. This test is performed to detect interior defects/flaws.
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Brief procedure
Wheel Boring:
The wheel boring in the Wheel shop is a rough finishing process. The wheel
has to be bored for a smoother finishing and to the specification of the
wheel seat. The wheel seat specifications are obtained from the measuring
station. The manufactured wheels from the wheel shop for the particular
axle is center bored to the measure axles wheel seat diameter by the
vertical boring machine using Octagon shaped carbide tool.
Wheel mounting :
Wheel mounting is the process of pressing the two wheels onto the wheel
seat of the axle using mounting press to form a wheel set.
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Brief procedure
After the smooth surface finish boring operation, the two
wheels for the particular axle are sent for pressing. Boring of
one wheel consumes 4 minutes.
For BOX-N wheel set
Bore diameter = 211.917 mm
Wheel seat diameter = 212.32 mm
The two wheels are hydraulically pressed so that the two
wheels sit on the wheel seat of the axle by using pressing
machine one wheel after the other.
Castor oil/double boiled linseed oil is applied on the axle
during pressing to reduce the pressure on the axle.
The wheel set obtained is measured by various gauges.
Example : offset gauge.
The track gauge measurement and the offset measurement
are done. The track gauge is important since the wheels sit on
the track. Thus their measurement is essential. And the offset
allows the bearing to sit properly.
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The following consumables used in Rail Wheel Factory are essentially needed to
be multi-sourced. The particulars given here under are indicative and are meant
to help suppliers for developing and supplying the same to RWF. The axle
consumables are:
Consumable Name: Steel Blooms for forging Diesel/Electric loco and EMU Driving
axles as per IRS R 43 and IRS R 16
Application/ Job requirement: The steel blooms shall be manufactured from steel
made by basic electric arc furnace or any other process recommended as
equivalent and approved by the purchasing railways. The steel must be degassed
under vacuum. Hydrogen content in the liquid steel is determined by standard
analysis method on LECO hydrogen analyzer. Hydrogen content of the steel is
determined by the standard analysis method on LECO nitrogen analyzer.
M Lab
Properties of materials
Every material is known by its set of properties. A variety of tests are conducted
to evaluate and compare the mechanical properties of different materials. Some
of the popular tests conducted include the tensile test, Compression test, Shear
test, Hardness test, Impact test, bending test and so on. Among all the tests
tensile test gives maximum information about mechanical properties.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Yield Strength:
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Ductility:
It is the ability of the material to undergo plastic deformation under tensile
load. A material with high ductility undergoes severe plastic deformation
before fracture takes place.
Percentage elongation gives a measure of ductility.
% elongation = (L L0) / L0 * 100
Where L = length of specimen after the tensile test.
L0 = original length.
Malleability:
It is the ability of the material to undergo plastic deformation under
compressive load.
Fracture strength:
After the ultimate load is reached, the load drops and at a particular load
fracture takes place. The stress corresponding to this load where the actual
failure takes place is known as Fracture strength of the material.
2
Fracture strength, f = Pf / A0 N/m
Where Pf = fracture load or breaking load
A0 = original area of cross section
Toughness:
The toughness of a material is its ability to withstand both elastic and
plastic deformation. In other words, it is the amount of energy a material
can withstand before fracture takes place.
A study of the constitution and structure of all steels and irons must first
start with the Iron carbon equilibrium diagram.
Iron is an allotropic metal which means that it can exist in more than one
type of crystal structure depending upon temperature. Pure iron exists as
BCC structure at room temperature and is called as FERRITE or - IRON. At
912 degrees Celsius BCC Iron undergoes allotropic changes and becomes
FCC structure which is retained till 1394 degree Celsius. FCC Iron is also
known as AUSTENITE or IRON. At 1394 degree Celsius it changes back
once again to BCC structure called FERRITE and this is retained till its
melting point at 1538 degree Celsius.
In Iron carbon equilibrium diagram, the left vertical axis represents 100%
iron and all the allotropic changes of pure iron with temperature. The right
vertical axis does not represent 100% carbon but instead represents only
6.67% C by weight. This is because a maximum amount of 6.67% C can only
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All the phases that appear on the Fe-c equilibrium diagram are equilibrium
phases that is, they are the phases obtained upon very slow cooling at
equilibrium conditions. Following are the different equilibrium phases of
Fe-C.
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FERRITE:
It is nothing but an interstitial solid solution of small amounts of carbon
dissolved in BCC iron. The maximum solid solubility of carbon in iron is
0.025% at 727 degrees Celsius and 0.008% at room temperature. It is the
softest among all phases of iron and carbon.
AUSTENITE
It is again an interstitial solid solution of carbon but in FCC iron. The
maximum solid solubility is 2.1%C at 1148 degree Celsius. Austenite is not
stable below 727 degrees Celsius and will not be normally present in the
micro structure at room temperature. It has an FCC structure and it is not
magnetic.
FERRITE
It is also an interstitial solid solution of carbon now BCC iron because
austenite changes its structure at 1394 degree Celsius from FCC to BCC.
Maximum solid solubility of carbon in -iron is 0.1%C at 1495 degree
Celsius.
CEMENTITE
It is also known as iron carbide and has a chemical formula Fe3C. It is
considered as chemical compound because it contains fixed carbon
percentage but is crystalline in nature. Cementite always contains 6.67%C
by weight and has an orthorhombic crystal structure. It is the hardest
structure that appears on Fe-C diagram. The presence of cementite greatly
enhances the properties of steel.
PEARLITE
When austenite containing exactly 0.83%C is cooled very slowly to below
727 degrees Celsius, it transforms into pearlite. Pearlite is nothing but
lamellar structure of - ferrite and cementite. It is a fairly soft structure and
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its hardness lies between that of -ferrite and cementite. It has a finger
print like appearance.
LEDEBURITE
It is the eutectic lamellar mixture of austenite (light phase) and cementite
(dark phase). The eutectic reaction occurs at 4.33%C at 1148 degree
Celsius. Austenite in the eutectic mixture of ledeburite is unstable below
727 degrees Celsius and hence transforms into -ferrite and cementite.
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M Lab
M lab also known as Metallurgy lab is an integral part of the RWF. The main
objective is to test the consumables and the specimens in order to ensure safety,
quality and confirm that they meet the specifications.
Machine shop
Physical testing
Chemical lab
Refractory lab
Destructive tests
Non-destructive tests
DESTRUCTIVE TESTS
Physical section will carry out various metallurgical tests on wheels and axles.
After being destructively tested, the component of the specimen either breaks or
remains no longer useful for further use.
NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTS
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A component does not break in non-destructive testing and after testing it can be
used for the purpose for which it is made.
MACHINE SHOP
The machine shop contains a lathe machine, grinding machine and a drilling
machine. Tasks that are performed by the operator in the machine shop
are:
Axle specimen is prepared.
Cross section of the wheel is obtained from EMMS (Electrical
Mechanical Machine Shop).
Specimen for the Charpy test is prepared.
The specimens from machine shop further go to physical testing to check for their
physical parameters.
PHYSICAL TESTING
All tests in the physical testing are of destructive type. Since the wheels are
produced by casting process, there is lot of stress induced during solidification of
the molten metal. These are not good for working of wheels, hence to check the
limiting stress, tests are carried out.
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The axles undergo forging in the axle shop. Due to changing temperatures,
stresses are developed. To test their limiting stress and grain structure, physical
testing is necessary.
Closure test
Radial saw cut analysis technique is used to measure the bulk
circumferential residual stress levels in rail road cast steel wheel.
With this technique the opening or closure of the saw cut, at the
flange tip is monitored as a function of the radial cut depth.
Hardness test
To a metallurgist, hardness is a materials resistance to penetration.
In general, an indenter is pressed into the surface of the material to
be tested under a specific load for a definite time interval, and a
measurement is made of the size or depth of the indentation.
The greater the hardness of the metal, the greater resistance it has
to deformation. In metallurgy hardness is defined as the ability of a
material to resist plastic deformation.
Tensile test
In tensile testing, the ratio of maximum load to original cross
sectional area is also called ultimate strength. This test gives an idea
of material strength obtained by proper process adopted of steel
making and its effective heat treatment done. Tests will be carried
out by turning to the standard test method and breaking by using
tensile testing machine.
There are two tensile test machines - one of a 100 ton capacity and
another of a 20 ton capacity.
Grain structure
A very important feature of a metal is the average size of the
grain. The size of the grain determines the properties of the
metal. For example, smaller grain size increases tensile strength and
tends to increase ductility. A larger grain size is preferred for
improved high-temperature creep properties. Creep is the
permanent deformation that increases with time under constant
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CHEMICAL LAB
Wet analysis
Instrumental analysis
unknown solution. Few tests are based on volumetric analysis for volume
measurements.
LECO Analyzer:
It is an elemental carbon and sulfur analyzer that has a variable power
combustion furnace, and has an enhanced IR cell design. It has available
automation that makes it a valuable resource for any industrial
environment requiring accurate analysis of carbon and/or sulfur. The unit
gives fast analysis in less than a minute.
XRF:
Wavelength dispersive X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer is an instrument
used for rapid quantitative elemental analysis of major and minor atomic
elements, from beryllium (Be) through uranium (U), in a wide variety of
sample types with minimal standards. It is a Micro analysis technique to
analyze samples as small as 500 m. The principle of working is based on
Brooks law. It is the latest instrument, eliminating the necessity of
chemical analysis, thus saving time.
Flame photometer
Flash point apparatus
Melting point apparatus
Electro chemical Analyzer
Flow length apparatus
Viscometer
Electrolytic Analyzer
Centrifugal apparatus
Muffle furnace
REFRACTORY LAB
Refractory lab is an important part of the RWf since they use refractory
consumables such as refractory castables and Alumina bricks. To ensure
that they are heat resistant, tests are conducted in the Refractory lab.
Flue gas analyzer: Flue gas is the gas exiting to the atmosphere via a
flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a
fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler or steam generator. A device that
monitors the composition of the flue gas of a boiler heating unit to
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determine if the mixture of air and fuel is at the proper ratio for
maximum heat output.
Atomic clock permeability: Permeability is a property of foundry sand
with respect to how well the sand can vent, i.e. how well gases pass
through the sand. And in other words, permeability is the property
by which we can know the ability of material to transmit fluid/gases.
The permeability is commonly tested to see if it is correct for the
casting conditions to find Permeability number permeter is used.
Muffle furnace: A muffle furnace is front-loading box-type oven or
kiln for high temperature. It is used in many research facilities to
determine what proportion of a sample is non-combustible and non-
volatile.
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EMMS
The preparation of specimen for testing, tools for machining, and cross section
of wheels are done here. Operations such as grinding, turning, milling, and
finishing are carried out.
TOOLS
Single point cutting tool: A single point cutting tool is a simplest type consisting of
a single effective cutting edge that removes the excess material from the work
piece. Lathe tool (chamfering tool, parting tool, facing tool, etc.), shaper tools
(tools used in shaping machine), planer tools, boring tools etc are the examples of
single point cutting tool.
Multipoint cutting tool: A multipoint cutting tool has more than one cutting edge
and includes milling cutters, drill bit, reamers, broachers, grinding wheel etc.
80
When the cutting tool is forced to move against the work piece, the tool exerts a
compressive force on the work piece. The material of the work piece is stressed
beyond its yield point causing it to deform plastically and shear off. The sheared
portion of the metal begins to flow along the cutting tool face in the form of small
pieces called chips.
Continuous chips
Continuous chips with built up edge
Discontinuous chips
TURNING (LATHE)
Turning is a machining process used for the generation of external cylindrical and
conical surfaces on a rotating work piece by means of a single point traversing
cutting tool. The process is usually performed on a lathe, wherein a single point
81
cutting tool is fed against a rotating work piece. Both the work piece and the tool
are held rigidly on the lathe.
Turret lathe is used for the preparation of cope and drag mould.
MILLING
Milling is a manufacturing process in which the excess material from the work
piece is removed by a rotating multi point cutting tool called milling cutter. In
milling, the cutter is held in the spindle of the machine and made to rotate at
suitable speeds. The work piece, which is held rigidly by a suitable device is fed
slowly against the rotating cutter. As the work piece advances against the rotating
cutter, each tooth of the cutter removes metal from the surface of the work piece
to produce the desired shape.
Milling machines are preferred for small and medium sized jobs and are used for
producing flat, angular or curved surfaces for cutting threads, toothed gears,
keyways, slots and wide variety of operations.
82
GRINDING
Grinding is a process of removing excess material from the work piece by the
mechanical action of abrasive particles that are held together by an adhesive,
generally in the form of solid wheel. The wheel known as grinding wheel is
rotated at high speeds, and when the surface of the rotating wheel is brought in
contact with the work piece, material is removed in the form of fine chips. The
depth of cut is obtained by downward movement of the grinding wheel. The
process removes very little material in the form of fine chips when compared to
that of turning, milling or drilling, and this makes it to be called a finishing
process. Grinding is employed to produce a work piece of high accuracy and
surface finish.
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Spectro Lab
The testing of sample that has to be further used or subjected for wheel
manufacture is done at the spectro lab. The sample (solidified metal) for testing is
obtained from the electric arc furnace to determine the composition of various
metal constituents within the required range.
The instrument or tester used for this purpose is ARL Metal Analyzer (M-402
optical emission spectrometer).
WORKING: The polished sample is placed between two tungsten electrodes and
an arc is struck. In doing so the electrons are excited. Inductively coupled plasma
(ICP) is used as an excitation source. Optical emission refers to emission using
spark discharge, direct current arc discharge or glow discharge for generating the
excitation discharge. This method involves statistical processing of the spark pulse
generated emission spectra obtained from spark discharges in an inert (argon)
atmosphere.
The excited atoms and ions in the discharge plasma create a unique emission
spectrum specific to each element. Thus, a single element generates numerous
characteristic emission spectral lines. Therefore the light generated by the
discharge can be said to be a collection of the spectral lines generated by the
elements in the sample. This light is split by a diffraction grating to extract the
emission spectrum for the target elements. The intensity of each emission
spectrum depends on the concentration of the element in the sample. Detectors
(photo multiplier tubes) measure the presence or absence of the spectrum
84
extracted for each element and the intensity of the spectrum to perform
qualitative and quantitative analysis of the elements. After detecting, the
concentration of each element in the sample is displayed.
Carbon
Manganese
Silicon
Phosphorous
Sulphur
Chromium
Nickel
Copper
Molybdenum
Aluminum
Vanadium
Lead
Titanium
Tin
85
The optical emission spectrometer offers rapid elemental analysis of solid metal
samples, making it indispensable for quality control in steel making processes. It
offers fast and accurate metal analysis.
ADVANTAGES/BENEFITS:
The presence of hydrogen and other supplementary gases is tested using this
machine. The working principle is based on Wheatstone bridge.
In working, nitrogen gas is constantly supplied for same resistance in all arms.
Where the gas pass through Anhydrone. Based on normal distribution, the
constant rate of hydrogen diffusion is determined.
86
Conclusion
RWF uses 95% of PLC (Programmable Logic Control) and advanced processes use
CNC (Computer Numerical Control). If provided there was more time, utilization
of it in learning more details of CNC programming and flow of logic in PLC could
have been achieved. None the less, the working of Long Forging Machine was
fascinating. The machine was power driven and the capacity of the machine to
plastically deform the axle was good.
The most interesting concept in Wheel Shop was Electric Arc Furnace. Unlike
many other furnaces, the charge is directly exposed to an electric arc. The process
of melting the charge using the furnace is distinct. Also, the magnaglo testing was
interesting to see in application.
The EOTs (Electrical Overhead Travelling Crane) were very helpful and had several
applications and was working at every step in the manufacturing unit. The EOT
was essential and it was a good experience to learn their mechanisms.
87
Bibliography
rwf.indianrailways.gov.in
Manufacturing Process I, Kestoor Praveen
Manufacturing Process II, Kestoor Praveen
Material Science and Metallurgy, K R Phaneesh
Shot Peening, Ninth Edition Metal improvement company, A Subsidiary of
Curtiss-Wright Corporation
Wikipedia.org
Manufacturing & Technology: Foundry Forming and Welding, P.N.Rao, 3rd
Ed., Tata McGraw Hill, 2003