Heat Treating for Railroad Applications
Railroads are critical systems that facilitate the efficient movement of people and goods over short commutes and long distances. Precise heat treatment for railroad components helps products and travelers reach their destinations safely.
We Go the Distance With Railroad Components
We’ve spent decades working with manufacturers serving the railroads market, so we understand your challenges. Here’s how we help you succeed.
Part Quality
Parts like rail fastening systems are safety critical and must be heat treated properly to serve their purpose. If components like these fail, the repercussions could be catastrophic for railroad operators, surrounding communities, and the supply chain. We have a proven track record of meeting the most stringent specifications to support the success of your business and the safety of your products.
Consistency
The railroad market combines high volume with exacting specifications, which requires repeatable heat treating processes that manufacturers can rely on. Because your recipes are stored in PICS and integrated with our automated furnace controls, we’re able to deliver greater consistency than other commercial thermal processors.
Turnaround Times
Many rail components are consistently being replaced during maintenance of railway lines and railcars. This creates ongoing demand for these components. Paulo can process railroad parts efficiently because our processes are highly automated, and we also allow room in our scheduled capacity to allow for emergency, rush, or overflow work. You play a crucial role in many supply chains, and we help you continue to deliver on time.
Thermal Processing Capabilities for Railroad Applications
We are a full-service commercial thermal processor with a comprehensive range of capabilities and a vast equipment array. These are a few of the services we most commonly perform for our railroad customers.
Carburizing
Wear components such as axles, bushings, and wear plates are case hardened using a carburizing process so they can respond to stress without cracking. This is possible because carburizing yields a hard outer layer on the parts while allowing the core to remain softer and more ductile.
Through Hardening
For applications such as rail fastening systems, neutral hardening is applied to give the parts enough strength to hold the rails down closely against the ties.
Shot peening
Shot peening refers to a blasting process where a high-hardness steel shot ball is slung and hits the part at high pressure. Also commonly applied to rail fastening systems, shot peening creates compressive stresses on the surface and makes the part stronger. This process helps prolong the life of components in spring-type applications.
Carburizing
Wear components such as axles, bushings, and wear plates are case hardened using a carburizing process so they can respond to stress without cracking. This is possible because carburizing yields a hard outer layer on the parts while allowing the core to remain softer and more ductile.
Through Hardening
For applications such as rail fastening systems, neutral hardening is applied to give the parts enough strength to hold the rails down closely against the ties.
Shot peening
Shot peening refers to a blasting process where a high-hardness steel shot ball is slung and hits the part at high pressure. Also commonly applied to rail fastening systems, shot peening creates compressive stresses on the surface and makes the part stronger. This process helps prolong the life of components in spring-type applications.
Railroad Components We Process
- Rail fastening systems
- Rail components tooling
- Axles
- Bearing part for railroad cars
- Wear plates for railroad braking systems
- Couplers
- Bushings
- Keys
- Follower blocks
Common Materials for Railroad Components
- Alloy steels
- 5160 steel
- 4140 steel
- 9310 steel
- 1080 steel
Trust Your Parts to Paulo
From precise processing to testing, handling, and more, Paulo’s team can provide a vital link in your supply chain. Our team of in-house metallurgists can also help identify and resolve issues that a previous heat treater may have had to bring your parts to spec. Bottom line? Bring us your challenges, and let’s work on solving them together.
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