PRASA Rail Doors – Innovative Industrial Design
PRASA Rail Doors – Innovative Industrial Design
The composites technology used to manufacture the rail doors of the new PRASA trains is a noteworthy example of cutting-edge, innovative industrial design and manufacturing processes, resulting in a robust and light-weight door set.
The joint technology venture between IFE Austria (Knorr Bremse) and AMT Composites brought-about a real-world advantage, enabling 13 300 doors to be manufactured in 3 years.
A radical approach was needed, as the volumes required in the given timeframe could not be realised in a conventional hot press. The new process, developed by a team from IFE and AMT merging technologies, resulted in an innovative way rail doors can be manufactured in a simple, yet very effective manufacturing process.
In layman’s terms, a single sided tool was manufactured to represent the door shape. Metal skins and a plastic core was then applied with a special adhesive system to take the shape of the tool. The door assembly was then placed in a curing oven to cure.
The result is super-fast production, dimensionally accurate and very smooth aesthetically pleasing rail doors. The new process also required a lower investment as opposed to expensive and high energy consuming hot presses.
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