Problem Faced
During the early era of modern railway transportation, more traditional composite materials played an integral part in shaping modern transportation.
One example of such traditional materials would be asbestos, utilised in door mechanisms as wear strips for the door guides.
Asbestos offered the railway industry extremely respectable fire retardance properties that can still surpass some modern materials. However, with the 1999 banning of asbestos, this could no longer be a viable option and new materials would need to be founded, not only in door mechanisms, but in many applications nationwide.
Another such composite trialed and used to replace asbestos was cotton phenolic based materials. These, however, were very brittle and couldn’t offer results satisfactory for today’s modern standards.
Tufcot’s Solution
With our extensive knowledge of composites, Tufcot® T400G has been offered to customers throughout the rail industry as a replacement for the more traditional composites.
With its specially designed resin system, that offers our standard self-lubricating properties fused with increased fire-retardant properties, T400G has been accepted and supplied for use as a door guide material.
On top of its fire-retardant properties, Tufcot® T400G offers the end user reduced wear and friction properties as well as an extremely beneficial weight reduction in modern railway door mechanisms.
Conclusion
Tufcot’s range of materials can be used in many applications for the rail industry.
The door guide mechanism is only one example of how modern composites, like Tufcot® are being used in rail applications to replace conventional materials.
