Cadweld, Rail grounding connections – web bonds – ERICO CADWELD Rail Grounding Connections – Web Bonds User Manual

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CADWELD

Rail Grounding Connections – Web Bonds

Refer to the mold tag for applicable instruction sheets.

IPRGW_B

IPRGW_B R1073S10WWEN PUR0312

WARNING:

The area of the rail where the web bond will be applied

and the bond terminals must be clean and dry. Failure to comply

can cause poor bonding, excessive weld porosity, and/or spewing molten

welding material with the potential for serious burns to the worker.

2. Use abrasive cloth or wire brush on the bond terminals if needed to

remove surface oxidation.

CAUTION:

The bond terminals must have a bright surface. Failure to

comply with this may result in a less than optimal weld. See Figure 4.

FIGURE 4

WARNING:

The area of the rail web to

be bonded must be lightly ground to a

bright ﬁ nish with no visible scratch marks

or gouges (normal uniform ﬁ nishing marks

are acceptable). Failure to observe this may

result in visible scratches or gouges due to overly

aggressive grinding that are potential crack

initiators and that may lead to rail breaks causing

derailment accidents with property damage,

injury and death to others. See Figure 5.

3. Lightly grind the rail surface using an ERICO approved grinding wheel

that is self-cleaning or a CADWELD

brand Rail Head and Web Cleaner

(Part SBB394C). Grinding wheels with resin binders tend to leave a

surface

ﬁ lm that may contaminate the surface, interfering with the

achievement of an optimum bond and causing weld porosity.

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 6

CAUTION:

Grinding must not be done more than 4 hours prior

to bonding. If the time lapse is longer, sufﬁ cient contaminating rust may

re-form requiring additional grinding. Failure to observe this may result in

a less than optimum bond.

4. Dry the mold and rail by heating them to about 250°F (120°C) with

a small propane torch.

WARNING:

The rail and mold must both be warmed to drive off

moisture. Failure to observe this may result in weld spatter with the

potential for serious burn injury, and a less than optimum bond with

excessive porosity. See Figure 6.

WARNING:

Rebonding over the application of an earlier web bond

is strictly forbidden! Rebonds must be applied at least two inches away

(centerline to centerline) from an earlier bond to avoid serious structural

harm to the rail. Failure to observe this may result in a rail break leading to

property damage, injury or death to others.

WARNING:

Back-to-back bonding of web bonds is strictly forbidden!

Bonds made on the opposite side of the rail to an earlier web bond must be

applied at least two inches away (centerline to centerline) from the earlier

bond to avoid serious structural harm to the rail. Failure to observe this may

result in a rail break leading to property damage, injury or death to others.

FIGURE 7

CAUTION:

Install only the

speciﬁ ed welding material

in the mold crucible. Use only

the welding material size that

is speciﬁ ed on the mold. ERICO

brand of welding material (F80) is

formulated speciﬁ cally for use with

rail steels; it is packaged in a blue

tube with a yellow cap. Dump all

of the welding material into the

crucible, then carefully tap the tube

on a hard surface to loosen the

starting material from the bottom

of the tube and distribute half

on top of the welding material,

close the mold cover, and pour the

remainder in the opening of the

mold cover. See Figure 7. Failure

to comply may result in difﬁ culty

getting the reaction started and/or

an unacceptable weld.

CAUTION:

Avoid direct eye contact with the “ﬂ ash” of light from

the ignition of the starting material.
5. Position yourself upwind of the mold, on the ﬁ eld side of the rail.

Place the tip of the ﬂ int igniter at the cover opening and ignite.

Remove the igniter quickly to prevent fouling.

CAUTION:

Allow 15 seconds for mold cooling after the reaction.

This will permit the molten metal to solidify. Then carefully disengage the

welder device and pull the mold straight back from the rail. Failure to

observe this may result in mold damage and its premature scrapping.

Molds can generally be re-used up to 50 times.
6. Carefully open the mold cover and break up the slag in the crucible

using the blade of the mold cleaning tool. Dump the slag from the

crucible and remove slag from the taphole using the curved end of

the mold cleaner. Dump slag in the ballast, not onto the ties.
7. Check the molds for breakage or residual slag before proceeding

with the next weld.

Note: If you have any questions or require further instructions, or would

like training, contact ERICO at 1-800-447-7245.

WARNING:

1. Connections should not be made to load bearing rail steel other than at the neutral axis of the rail or at the head of the rail within

the

conﬁ nes of the joint/splice bar.

2. All connections to rail steel should only be made where the rails are fully supported, or to rail that is non-load bearing in its use.
3. The welding material size for the connection to rail steel should not be greater than 250 grams (which, in general, corresponds

to a maximum cable size of 500 kcmil (240 mm

Disk

Welding Material

1/2 Starting Material

Crucible Cover

1/2 Starting Material

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