Rail drilling machine is a device that is currently a necessary tool in the railway industry. The main purpose of this unit is to make the holes necessary for inserting the butt bolts used to connect the tracks.
General description of the machine
Most often, these devices are used during inspections or repair of railway tracks. They can also be used during the construction of new roads. Speaking generally about such devices, they were invented for a long time, at the beginning of the 19th century, but then these devices were of manual type.
With the development of technology to date, there are no more manual devices. Either electric drives or internal combustion engines are used. Naturally, the equipment has a certain technical characteristic, as well as its principle of operation. For example, if the steel grade of the rails refers to hardened or alloyed, then it is necessary to use equipment whose engine power is 1.7 kW.
In addition, this drive must be from an electric motor. Another important part of the device of this type of rail drilling machine is that its frame should be maximally reinforced, and it should also have such additional elements as a gear motor and a special feed mechanism.
Instrument Technical Parameters
If the steel grade of the rails belongs to the group of non-hardened, then equipment with the following technical parameters can be used:
- The power of the electric motor should be 0.75 kW.
- As a main power source, a conventional electrical network can be used. However, it is worth noting that it is possible to use power from mobile power stations.
- If we talk about the drilling speed, then it will also depend on the quality of steel. For example, if you need to make a hole with a diameter of 35 mm in P20 rails, you will have to spend 2 minutes, and in P75 rails - 3 minutes.
- It should also be noted that the weight of the rail drilling machine itself is quite high - 38 kg.
Device and functional equipment
In addition to the fact that this unit is used for drilling holes, it also performs a couple more functions. The first action is a two-sided chamfering, and the second is an increase in the strength of the metal at the drilling site, which is carried out due to the internal rolling of the hole.
It is important to understand that all three operations are performed by a single rail drilling machine. For this, several quick-release mandrels are used. In each of these frames one of the necessary tools is attached, designed to perform one of the operations.
If we talk about the general structure of the machine, then it has three main elements: a drill, a reamer and a chamfer. All drills used in such machines are made of high speed steel or have special removable plates made of hard alloys.
General principle of work
When repairing railways or laying new ones, the same work pattern is used. It will differ only if the steel grade used in the manufacture of the tracks will belong to different groups.
If we talk about working with non-hardened steel, then we can successfully use a simpler tool with a lightweight design. Before starting the drilling process, the machine is installed on the rail, a place is chosen for mounting the bolt, after which the equipment is fixed in place. The device is mounted to the sole of the rail itself. Then the drill is placed in a special adjustable cone, which allows the use of a consumable element with different sizes.
The installation has a manual screw mechanism with a limiter, which is designed to change the degree of pressure. In order to avoid overheating of the drill during operation, barrels of coolant are placed on the rail head. Water enters the required area either by gravity or by force.
Machine Model 1
The device of rail-boring machine 1 allows using it for work with volume-hardened and non-hardened rails. The mass of this unit is quite large - 40 kg.
This equipment is designed to perform operations such as:
- direct drilling of holes for butt bolts;
- chamfering on both sides of the rail;
- increasing the strength of drilled holes using rolling.
It is also worth noting that the installation and removal of the machine are carried out quite quickly through the use of the upper grip. One of the rather convenient features of working with this device is that at the time of completion of drilling, the installation spindle switches to its initial position, which entails automatic shutdown.
This also applies to one of the advantages of this unit, at the same time that it is possible to work together with the rails already laid in one way.
Machine Model 2
The rail-boring machine STR 2 has a powerful electric motor of 1.75 kW, which makes it possible to operate it during work with hardened and alloyed rails. The hole drilling diameter of such devices is 36 mm. Like other instruments, the 2 model is used not only for drilling, but also for rolling and chamfering.
If we talk about the time it takes the tool to perform all three operations, then this is no more than 3.5 minutes. Another important feature of the device of this machine is that it is universal in terms of selecting the diameter of the drill. You can use the tool both in the field and in stationary. It is worth noting that not all models are equipped with electric motors.
If the customer makes a special order, it is possible to change to an internal combustion engine. As well as the model 1, rail-boring machine 2 is a device that automatically turns off after completion of work. The weight of this unit is approximately 55 kg.
Model of the machine RSM1M
If we compare this model of the machine with the previous ones, then it is the most cumbersome and heavy. Overall dimensions are 900x482x410 mm, and its mass is 58 kg.
Among the special capabilities of the equipment, it is possible to distinguish that there is an accelerated drill feed with subsequent switching to manual feed. There is also an accelerated tap of the drill element.
The engine type for this model is an electric motor with a power of 1.7 kW. However, as in the case of STR2, it is possible to replace it with an internal combustion engine by order of the buyer. The operation manual for the RSM1M rail boring machine is mandatory to read before using the equipment. This is mainly required due to the fact that the drill feed is of an accelerated type, and the power is quite large.