1. 13th
August, 2016 (Copyright 13/08/16 Abhigyan nath)
A brief report on the industrial visitto the Indian Rail
Wheel Factory (RWF),Yelankha,Bangalore-560084
-Conducted by the IEEE young professionals (Bangalore section)
The Wheel andAxle plantatBangalore wasfoundedin1984 to cater to the massive needsof
the IndianRailroadIndustryasIndiahad to be self sufficienttoeffectivelymanage the largestrailroad
networkitwouldgrowto be inthe comingyears.True to itsvisionthe IndianRailwaystodayhasa
~38,000 km rail networkaroundthe country whichmakesitan absolute lifelinetoIndia.Itwaslater
renamedasthe IndianRail Wheel Factory(RWF) aswe know it today. It isspreadoveran area of 119
acres of lushgreenlandwhichmake itone of the most eco-friendlyfactoriesinIndia.Also,notto
mentionthatwithinthe factorythere are twowatertankerswhichare the largestwatertankersin
south-eastAsia.
We,as youngengineersandthe future generation citizenof Indiawere giventhiswonderful
opportunitytovisitthisState-of-the-artmanufacturingandproductionunitof the IndianRailwaysand
interactwiththe engineersandemployeeswhoperformthistideoustaskwithutmostprecisionand
accuracy and are able to supplywheelsandaxlesof magnificentquality,durabilityanddependability.
These materialsare processedthroughrigoroustestingmutiple timesthroughoutthe entire
manufacturingperiodsandverystrictqualitycheckskeeperroneousproducts atbay.It was trulyan
amazingfirsthandexperience of the methodsusedinindustrial manufacturing.Oursafetywaswell
takencare of and we were providedwithall the necessaryandrequired safetygeartoface any
enentualityincase of an emergency .Here on,I’dlike toproduce an insighttothe technical aspectsof
the factory.
There are mainly3 divisionsof the RWF, theyare Wheel Shop,Axle Shopandthe Assembly
station.The RWF produces~1,50,000 wheelsand~48,000 axlesof differentguage lengths(narrow
gauge,broadgauge,etc.) forvariouspurposes.Unlike the Europiancountrieswhere the wheelsare
forged(suitableforhighspeeds),the wheelsrequiredbythe IndianRailwaysare casted(suitable to
sustainmore loads) asdue to the huge economyof Indiathe Railwaysare the primarytransport for
passengersaswell asgoodsand alsobecause castingiseconomical ascomparedtoforging.
2. 13th
August, 2016 (Copyright 13/08/16 Abhigyan nath)
Wheel Shop:-
We were introducedtothe cope and drag forthe wheels,theUHPF(UltraHighPowerFurnaces),
the sand usedforthe mouldand were alsoshownhow the massive cranesbringthe moltenmetal in
huge laddlesandpourthemintothe JohnMohr pits,thenthey are made airtightandpressure inapplied
so that the moltenmetal flowsuniformlyintothe mould,thespruesare removedbyusingoxy-acetylene
flame,thenthe risersare usedtoput these freshlycastedwheel ontothe conveyorforfurtherrefining
processes(heattreatment,PrimaryRotaryFurnace).Ittakes9 hrs for a wheel tocome outof the
primaryrotary furnace.The metal meltsaround1700*c and the temperature istriedtobe maintained
till a certainpoint.Thenthe wheel isputtopriliminarysurface finishprocesses.(Bombardingof the
curvedsurface withsmall castmetal ballsat highspeeds) asCNCmachinigof these surfacesare not
recommended.Thenthe wheelistestedforinternal andexternal ruptures,cracksbyUltrasonicand
Magna glowtestingsrespectively.The core of the wheel hastomaintainitssoftnesswhereasthe outer
rim of the wheelshastobe hardened,thisisachievedbyQuenchingof the wheel (suddenabsolute
cooling).Thenthe wheelmovestothe Brinell andRockwell Hardnesstestingshop.Thesewheelsare
alsotestedforBendingandelasticity.Thenthe final surface finishisgiven.The final checksare then
performedonthe wheelsbythe employees,if theyare notsatisfactorythenthe whole wheel issentfor
meltingandthe whole processisrepeated.If theyholdgoodtheyare allowedtocool.Thatishow the
wheel shopfunctions.Generallythe wheelsare remade fromthe scrapmetal receivedfromvarious
parts of the country.The wheelsare made outof cast steel.
Axle Shop:-
The Axle shopmanufacturesavarietyof axlesasrequestedbythe IndianRailwaysandwheels
specifictoeach(TATA steel)axle are pairedtogether.The axlesare made outof freshmetal produced
directlybysteel plants,theycome intothe RWF as blooms.These bloomsare thentreateduponbyLPG
flamestocut these bloomsintobilletsof the requiredsized,thesehappenundercontrolled
circumstancesandunderthe supervisionof trainedengineers.Thenthenthesebilletsare sentintoa
secondaryrotaryfurnace for meltingandheattreatment,after4hrs the billetsat~1500*c come out of
the furnace and theyare actuallyassoftas a sponge.Thenthese billetsare fedintoahammerforge
where eachjabberexertsaforce of 8 tonneson eachblow to beatthe billetintothe shape of anaxle,
these axlesare inspected.Theygothrougha screwingprocessforthe fittingof wheels,aroughrollingto
getrid of most external roughsurfaces,thenCNCmachiningforthe wheel seats, lubricantsandanti-rust
fluidissprayedandpainteduponthe axles,thenthere isthe final Rollingwhichtakesthe precisionand
accuracy upto ~0.5-0.05mm. Thenthere isa heat treatmentandthe axlesare quenchedforhardness.
Thenthese axlesare lefttocool underthe atmosheric(natural) air.Thenqualitychecksare performed,
if it comesoutsatisfactoryitis passedelse itisrejectedandsentback.
3. 13th
August, 2016 (Copyright 13/08/16 Abhigyan nath)
Assembly Station:-
For locomotive enginesthe wheelsare notassembledwiththe axlesasthere are couplings
th0at needto be attachedto the axlesandaccordinglyeachlocomotive axleisgivenalargeror smaller
wheel seatdependingonthe requirements(aspowerneedstobe generatedbythe engine).Butforthe
coachesand bogeysthe wheelsandaxlesare assembledtogetherbymeansof pressure fittings,namely
interference fit,clearancefitandabsolute fit.Interferencefitisrecommendedasafterthisthe wheel is
rigidlymountedonthe axle.Hydraulicsystemsare usedtoapplythese massivepressures.Reminding,
properthreadinghasbeenperformedonbothwheelsandaxlesandsufficientcorrosionresistance has
beenimpartedtoboththe products.By thistime the manufacturedwheelsandaxlesare readytobe
put inservice of the IndianRailways.
Overall ithasbeenanoverwhelmingexperience forall of us, to know that
such facilitiesexistinthe vicinityof oursurroundingsinitself inducesasense of pride andjoy. The
IndianRailwaysisthe largestrecruiterwithover~1.4millionemployeesandstill growingfarandwide.
The RWF isjusta productionunitamongall the variousfactoriesunderthe IndianRailways.Fresh
graduatescan serve the IndianRailwayseither bythe RRB(RailwayRecruitmentBoard) Entryor through
the ESE (EngineeringServicesExaminations)andjointhe workforce.Withinthe factorythere isalsoa
MaterialsTestinglabanda ResearchandDevelopmentLab.Inthe near future the IndianRailways isalso
workingtowardsa highspeedrail projectinspiredfromotherdevelopednation.We are absolutelysure
that the IndianRailwayswill achievethistargetina shortspan of time.
-Report produced by
Abhigyan Nath
IEEE- #93595541
(B.E.)Mechanical Engineering ,
PES University,100 ft ring road,Banashankari 3rd stage,
Hosakerehalli,Bangalore-560085
Email- abhigyan.nath.in@ieee.org
Contact- +91-9502923892
