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OCEAN AVENGER DRILLING RAIL SECTIONS
Drilling Rail and switchgear sections – Feasibility Test
Click image to watch video
General
Observations
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In 2003 we were approached by a rail and
switchgear manufacturer who wanted to drill holes in rail section.
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Up to that time they were doing the process manually, using large
radial arm drills, and they wanted to simplify and speed up the
process.
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They wanted to establish if the Ocean Avenger CNC
Drill line would process the exceptionally hard and varied steel
that is used to create railway tracks and switchgear.
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What makes drilling rail sections and switchgear
different to structural steel, (which is always detailed left to
right using the left hand side of the section as the datum point),
is that when it comes to rail, the overall length of rail is not
that important, but the holes must be referenced from both sides of
the rail.
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i.e. the holes at the left side of the rail must
be referenced from the left hand end of the rail, and the holes on
the right hand side must be referenced from the right hand end of
the rail
Customer Trials
- We performed the test way back in 2003,
using the old "A" model Ocean Avenger - this model is easily
recognizable by the old style "ride-along" cab (the operator
would ride along with the machine and program the machine
from the cab. This was changed in the "B" Model to have a
stand-alone stationary operators console)
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We tried the test using the standard
twist drill bits, but due to exceptional hardness
(high tensile strength) of the rail we were unable to get
repeatable results using the HSS drills.
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We then switched to an special type of
Insert Drill bit - the video you see below is drilled using
these insert drill bits.
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The time taken to drill the 15/16"
diameter holes through the 1-1/2" rail was 26 seconds
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We were able to average around 30 holes
per drill bit insert.
Conclusion
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After the successful trials we installed
the first of several Ocean Avengers into rail and switchgear
manufacturing operations.
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If you are in the rail or switchgear
industry, and you are still processing rail the old school
manual way, you are doing it very expensively
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Please call us to find out about our
installations and the success stories that our customers
have passed on
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video and brochure on this amazing Beam Drill Line, please
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