11 May 2019
The unit was started by C. K. JafferSharief, the then Railway Minister, who got this project to Bengaluru. It was commissioned in 1984 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 (Wheels, Axle sand wheel sets) are engineered with little scrap for human errors. It has a planned capacity to manufacture of about 70,000 wheels of different sizes, 23,000 axles and to assemble 23,000 wheel sets. It employs over 2000 personnel and has an annual turnover of about 82 crores.
Rail wheel Factory is a manufacturing unit located in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. They aim to produce quality wheels, axles and wheel sets of railroad wagons, coaches and locomotives. This factory uses cast steel technology to manufacture wheels which utilizes scrap steel collected from workshops as raw material.
Power Supply and Power Backup to the Factory:
The factory is currently getting power form Ratnagiri power plant. 66Kv is stepped down to 11Kv in the beginning and transmitted to the axial and wheel shops in the respective shops it is again stepped down to 433v to run equipment with 3 phase motor or to 230v to single phase motor. In addition to this they also have a diesel generating station to provide uninterrupted power to the factory and the colony.
The metal is molten using an Ultra High Frequency Electric Arc furnace (at temp=1600 degree C) and put into graphite moulds followed by different heat treatment processes. Some metals like Mn,Ni,Cr are added to retain the desired old properties of the iron .The sample is taken from every batch which is tested in the lab for its physical, chemical and molecular properties if the metal. Then they will send big container containing molten iron into Johnmohr pit-1 (underground).Later it is moulded into desired shape of wheel with required diameter based on the requirement. That hot wheel will be sent through ladder and will heat for 1 hour. This process was performed by fully automated machine. The wheels are then air cooled slowly later the extra undesired pieces are cut out manually slowly using gas cutter. The wheel is then passed to normalising furnace to maintain certain properties to strengthen the wheel. The wheel is cooled then the sample is sent for quality test like Magna particle test to detect any bubbles or any internal or external cracks.
Forging of Axles:
Billets are cut to required unit lengths and heated in a rotary hearth furnace to forging temperatures. The heated billets are then transferred to CNC controlled precision long gorging machine procured from M/s GFM, Austria. The advantage of the precision forging process is minimised machining allowance, leading to reduced wastage .The fish tail ends of the forged axles are gas cut and axles hot stamped with the unique number .The forged axles are the normalised in a walking beam furnace, followed by air-cooling and tempering. For axles meant for traction applications, where higher tensile strength and hardness is required, the axles are quenched after normalising using polymer quenchant. Samples are drawn from each bath and checked for physical and metallurgical properties tested before being taken up for machining. The machine line is again a completely automated system with integrated engineering for material transfer from one station to another .the various machining stages include end milling , cup turning and countering , rough, semi-finished and finish turning , brushing of wheel drilling and tapping of axles end holes , grinding of axle journal and dust guards. During the course of machining cycle , all axles are ultrasonically checked for internal flaws and magnetic particle testing is done to detect any surface flaws. RWF is procuring a radial scanning equipment to undertake radial probing of axles required as per UIC standards. The manufactured wheels and axles are then tested using destructive and non-destructive tests to check for cracks and any kind of failures.
Wheel Set Assembly:
RWF has the unique distinction of being one of the few plants worldwide which besides loose wheels and axles, is capable of supplying assemble wheelsets to the consumers. RWF has a fully automated wheel assembly complex, which can assemble a wide spectrum of wheel sets. In the assembly complex the wheelset diameter of the axles is measured electronically and the data is transferred to precision borers, where a wheel pair, with tread diameter within 0.5mm, is bored to get correct interface fit. The wheels are then pressed on the axle in a 300 ton pressure under control conditions (minimum 78 ton and maximum 136 metric ton) to form a perfect assembly in respect of track gauge, offset of wheels from the axle centre, mounting pressure etc. the assembled wheelsets are inspected for all parameters. The wheel sets are given a protective coating, painted and packed before being cleared for shipment to protect them from physical and environmental damage during transit.
Faculty Coordinator:
Dr. R V Siva Reddy
Mr. Pavan Kunar U
Mr. Ramesh M S
