A Canadian Rail Yard Selects Mountz Torque Multiplier to Help Raise and Lower Decks During the Loading of Automobiles into Rail Cars
A rail yard in Canada was searching for a torque solution that would speed up the process and remove strain on its operators. The application was to assist their operators raise and lower the decks on the AutoMax rail cars in preparation of loading new cars at a local automotive manufacturing plant.
The rail company has a remote yard about 6.5 miles from the automotive facility. The function of this rail yard is to prepare the rail cars for the different types of automobiles that will be loaded into them before the rail cars arrive at the automotive plant.
There are 3 different types of rail cars that are used at this yard. Two of them use a manual crank to raise and lower the decks. The other rail car used a gravity, weight system to raise and lower the deck.
For the rails cars that utilized a manual crank system, an operator was required to climb into the rail car and manually turn the crank 40-50 times in order to raise it or lower it. There was crank at the front and back ends of each rail car. The estimated prevailing torque for the crank handle was at a minimum of 150 foot-pounds. The rail yard operators could quickly prepare 2 to 4 rail cars, but their strength quickly diminished thereafter. The rail yard was looking to speed up the process of getting the rail cars prepared for loading and reduce the number of operators suffering from potential work-related injuries.
The temperatures at this Canadian rail yard can vary throughout the year. It could reach a frigid -26° in the winter season and climb up to a warm 95° in the summer season. Mountz offered the rail yard an EFCip electric torque multiplier to resolve their torque application issue.
The easy-to-operate EFCip electric torque multiplier is designed for precision tightening and loosening of all heavy duty fastening applications. From tightening large industrial bolts used in windmill gearbox assemblies to bolting maintenance applications for oil & gas pipelines and rigs, the Mountz electric torque multiplier achieves precision torque in a quick, cost-efficient manner. With its IP54 design, the EFCip unit protects against any incidental dampness or spattered water.
For the Canadian rail yard, a custom adapter was also manufactured to fit over the main coil of the hand crank. This adapter was placed onto EFCip 20 torque multiplier with a custom reaction device. The operators were equipped to use the electric torque multiplier in the rail cars by passing a power cord through the ventilation holes and plugged the tool into a generator. The implementation of this torque multiplier provided the rail yard with a quicker turnaround time for preparing the rail cars for loading and reduced the strain for the operators while providing a safer work environment.
