ecoChip: Removing the lead in railway

Case studies / Friction

The seamless ally for lead removal in railway industry

Railway brake blocks are one of the most complex branches of the friction industry

Engineers and designers must come up with formulations balanced in several characteristics:

– LOW SQUEAL: Due to the high impact involved in railway applications

– HIGH HEAT DISSIPATION CAPACITY: Due to the high energy involved in railway applications

– WEAR AND CORROSION RESISTANCE: To reduce wear rate and increase the service life of the blocks

– LIGHT WEIGHT: And stable friction coefficient

– ACCEPTABLE COST: Versus performance

Cast iron blocks were often used on older vehicles whereas composite blocks are now employed for newer braking systems.

A wide range of materials are used to achieve the mentioned balance.

Brass is a very common additive used to improve wet friction and recovery. However, recycled chips and swarf often contain a significative lead content, and lead restrictions got stricter along last years on industry.

We are happy that many renowned railway manufacturers have chosen rimsa’s well-known ecoChip lead-free brass chips as their seamless replacement to lead-containing brass chips, while keeping all the good properties of their existing formulations.

We are also proud to be part of this ecological change, as our unique dry manufacturing process enables us to offer the OE’s choice of lead-free brass chips with the best value for money

ecoChip

Manufactured heavy metal-free (Pb, Cd, As, Sb, etc.) brass (Copper/Zinc 60:40) Our unique manufacturing process enables…