Complete specification

Die for Manufacturing of Elastic Rail Clips Field of the invention:-

The present invention is in the field of manufacturing and die design. More precisely, the present invention relates to a single die used for making the first two bends in Elastic Rail Clip Manufacturing.

Description of the prior art and problems to be solved:-

No such closest prior art is available to the present invention. However US patent No: 3,004,716 named as Railway Rail Securing Means is related to fastening members for anchoring a railway rail and to rail-fastening arrangements employing such members and the bending process takes place in three portions, whereas in the present invention the die for bending operations is changed where the first two bends are made in a single die for the purpose of automation. The automation is carried out using a PLC network.

Objective of the invention:-

The principle object of this invention is that the two bends can be carried out in the same die without any part handling or any change in component orientation.

Another objective of this invention is that the dimensions of the die can be calculated to accommodate the component during bending and after bending also.

Another objective of this invention is that the man power required is less and the time period to complete the process is also less when compared to the other processes A further objective of this invention is that the die can be made of tool steel of required grade to match the manufacturing capabilities.

Background of the invention:-

Elastic rail clips are used extensively in railway industry and forms an integral part of the track layout in India. At present there is extensive need of these clips for laying strong and stiff tracks. As the total track length goes on increasing everyday to accommodate new trains and new routes to remote places, the need for these clips rises exponentially. As these clips may also fail due to excessive wear and tear by the continuous use, a situation of non- replacement may lead to track failure, hence disastrous results, which sometimes cause loss of lives.

The present demand for elastic rail clips is a huge value approximately 1,800,000 a year, but the demand has not been met still. The process used in manufacturing this ERCs is a 50 year old slow process, which not been improvised till date. Recent process plans in automating the process and increasing the output lead to uneconomical production.

The man power required for this small process is high when compared to modem CNCs multi-functional capabilities. The men required in this process are five in number, operating the machine under very harsh and dangerous environment. The minimum time that must be utilized for this process comes around 20 seconds. This process is progressive bending. The total time required for changing the semi-finished component from one die to another is 10 seconds. The percentage of time wasted is exactly 50. Hence this process can be termed as highly unproductive.

The main aim of the present invention is to perform a low cost automated ERC manufacturing unit.

In the process of this innovation the die for bending operations has to be changed. The first two bends for this process are made in a single die for the purpose of automation. The automation is carried out using a PLC network.

Summary of the Invention:-

The invention relates to new automated method to develop elastic rail clips which is particularly used in the railways. A single die set is used to perform the two bend process of the elastic rail clips. The bends are in two different planes we can eliminate the change of product from one die to another, by the use of a horizontal and vertical ram. The die inside material is carved out in such a way. So that it can set the component after first bend and also during second bend operations. Rollers are provided to minimize wear of die material at critical areas. Punches that are used in conventional method can also be used in this. By placing a stop at one of the ends of die, the location of the rod is made fool proof.

Detailed description of the invention with reference to Drawings:-

The present invention is an automated method to manufacture elastic rail clips using a single die particularly used in the railways.

Working mechanism:

The two bends are performed in a single die set (1). The bends are in two different planes and can eliminate change of product from one die to another by the use of horizontal and vertical ram. The die inside the material is carved out in such a way that it can seat the component after the first bend and also during the second bend operations. Rollers (2, 3) are used to minimize wear of the die material at critical areas and the punches used in the conventional method can also be used in this. By placing a stopper (4) at one of the ends of die, the location of the rod is made fool proof.

A horizontal cylinder with a force of 150 tons is actuated to make the first bend. The second cavity is located below the rod feed axis (6) to accommodate the bent rod during second bend. A 2mm cavity (5) is exactly located along the longer part of y bend at required point. A vertical cylinder carrying the punch will make the second bend.

The built in crests will turn the hot rod as per requirements. The main thing to be noted that die is a 'split die' model. The die and two cylinders for two bends form the 1®* integral part of the machine. The third and the fourth with a master cylinder, rack and pinion arrangement forms the important parts to make the finished component.

The die and punch set for the third bend is already available with loco works. The positioning of the 2-bent component into the second die is made possible using a split die concept.

The first die has two cavities to accommodate two bends. The second die has been modified with a small pneumatic cylinder which can push the semi finished component into the die to the desired position. This ensures the positioning of the clip in the die.
The master cylinder carries two vertical cylinders each of which can give forces of 150 tons. The master cylinder is capable of rotation about a pinion which can be rotated about a pinion which can be controlled in turn rotated by a rack. The rack is made to move by a hydraulic cylinder. The force required in this cylinder depends on the weight of the entire setup of the pinion and master cylinder and can be designed accordingly. The part 1 of the die is attached to master cylinder and cylinder is placed at certain degrees from the 2nd one. When the rack is actuated, it rotates the pinion, in turn rotates the master cylinder. The die gets split away, and the components inside the die gets a 90 deg turn and falls into the second die placed below for the final bending. At the same moment, the cylinder comes into the precise position for the third operation. After the process is over the operator who fed the component can take and throw the component into the oil tank for cooling. From there the elastic rail clips are tempered, coated with linseed oil, inspected and packed. A programmable logic controller network carries out the actuation of cylinders at precise timings. An Elastic rail clip has been modeled using CATIA and can be used for future analysis.

Brief Description of the Drawings:-

Fig 1 shows the 3D view of the Die for manufacturing Elastic Rail Clips

Fig 2 shows the front view of the Die for manufacturing Elastic Rail Clips

Fig 3 shows the rollers

Fig 4 shows the first part of the split die

Fig 5 shows the second part of the split die

Claims:

We Claim:

1. An automated method comprising of a single die set consisting of first die and second die, cylinders, rollers, punches, rack and PLC network wherein is used in the manufacture of elastic rail clips whereby is used in the railway industries.

2. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the single die set performs the two bends at two different planes by use of horizontal and vertical ram.

3. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the die inside the material can seat the component after the first bend and also during the second bend operations.

4. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the rollers minimize the wear of the die material at critical areas.

5. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the die used is a split die model.

6. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the first die has two cavities to accommodate two bends and the second bend is modified with a small pneumatic cylinder which pushes the die into a desired position.

7. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylinder is a master cylinder with a force of 150 tons to make the first bend and the vertical cylinder with a punch makes the second bend.

8. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the rack is actuated, rotates the pinion which rotates the master cylinder where the die is split and the components in the die gets a 90 degree turn and falls in the second die, at the same time the third cylinder is positioned for third operation.

9. As claimed in claim 1, wherein the PLC network carries out the actuation of cylinders at precise timings.

10. As claimed in claim 8, wherein the components are the elastic rail clips which are dropped into the oil tank for cooling after which they are tempered, coated with linseed oil, inspected and packed and later are modeled using CATIA for future analysis.