Erico, Cadweld, And erico – ERICO Connections to Foot of Continuously Supported Rail and Non-Load Bearing Rail User Manual

Page 2

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ERICO

CADWELD

AND ERICO

CADWELD

PLUS Connections to Foot of Continuously

Supported Rail and Non-Load Bearing Rail

WARNING:

The worker(s) performing the welding

must be properly dressed and equipped. Examples include
cotton or woolen garments (most synthetic fabrics melt rather
than char when exposed to ﬂame, causing severe burns), safety
footwear with non-slip soles, head protection, leather gloves,
eye goggles and other clothing and equipment recommended
or required by the person’s employer, industry practice, or
applicable laws and regulations. See Figure 2. The worker(s)
must not be under the inﬂuence of any alcohol, drugs or other
chemicals that would impair their judgment or performance

of the job. Failure to observe this may result in serious personal
injury.

CAUTION:

The worker(s) must be certain that they

can achieve good footing in the area where the weld will
be done. They should be able to step away from the weld
reaction, to be upwind of it. Failure to observe this may result
in personal injury.

WARNING:

Carefully following the instructions

for exothermic connections is very important to achieving
a quality reliable connection. Failure to do so may cause
hidden potential problems, the least of which is a poor
electrical connection, and the most serious of which is an
eventual broken rail leading to property damage, injury or
death to the installer and others.

III.

PREPARATION

WARNING:

Protect against potential ﬁre

hazards local to the welding area and remove all
ﬂammable materials from the work area. Notify in
advance other workers in the immediate area that a
welding procedure is about to be done. Failure to do this
increases the risk of ﬁre with the possibility of property
damage, personal injury and death.

NOTE

In case of a ﬁre involving large quantities of exothermic

welding material, CO2 or large quantities of water applied
from a distance are required to reduce the spread of the ﬁre.

WARNING:

The area of the rail where the connection

will be applied and the conductor must be clean and dry.
Failure to comply can cause an unsatisfactory connection,
excessive weld porosity, and/or spewing molten welding
material with the potential for serious burns to the worker.

1. Clean the rail surface and conductor. Scrape off excess dirt

and grease, and wipe away any remaining residue using a
clean rag saturated with a railroad approved solvent. See
Figure 3. The rail and conductor must be dry prior to
welding!

2. Use abrasive cloth or wire brush on the conductor if needed

to remove surface oxidation.

CAUTION:

The conductor must have a bright surface.

Failure to comply with this may result in a less than optimal
weld.

See Figure 4.

3. Lightly grind the rail surface using an ERICO

approved self-

cleaning grinding wheel. Grinding wheels with resin binders
tend to leave a surface ﬁlm that may contaminate the
surface, interfering with the achievement of an optimum
connection and causing weld porosity.

WARNING:

The area on the rail to be welded must b e

lightly ground to a bright ﬁnish with no visible scratch
marks or gouges (normal uniform ﬁnishing 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 property damage, injury and death to others.
See Figure 5.

CAUTION:

Grinding must not be done more than 4

hours prior to welding. If the time lapse is longer, sufﬁcient
contaminating rust may re-form requiring additional grinding.
Failure to observe this may result in an unsatisfactory
connection.

FIGURE

Safety Goggles

Cuffed Leather
Gloves

Jacket or Shirt
and Trousers

Safety Shoes

Safety Helmet

FIGURE