With a team of product specialists who are experts at finding solutions to problems faced by rail engineers, Challenge Charcroft to assist you with your Rail Industry challenges.
Failing components and refurbishments are a fact of life for engineers in the rail industry. Dirt and other contaminants, vibration, shock and high transient voltages all contribute to the risk of failure, whilst the extended system lifetimes can mean regular refurbishment projects. Whilst there are standard products which are manufactured to the appropriate approvals, some level of creative customisation can help to ensure a fast solution to a failed system or a difficult upgrade project.
One example of the challenge faced by electronics engineers in the rail industry is the OEM who was experiencing intermittent failure of the door control system on passenger rolling stock. Finding the point of failure was relatively easy because some of the Power Supply Units (PSU) on the Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) for the door control units were catching fire.
The cause of the incendiary PSUs was traced to transient voltage spikes on the input supply to the PSU so the solution was to find a replacement unit. With an ultra-wide input range of 33 to 154VDC, the PMDS30 110S24U-VT, from MTM Power, would protect the electronics from transients and provide the equipment with a fully isolated and regulated supply. The new PSU, however, did not match the existing mounting arrangement so a modified, pin-mounted unit was fitted to a PCB with input and output connectors which matched the existing arrangement. This slight modification allowed for a quick and simple swap-out of the failing PSU during the normal maintenance programme.
Charcroft will be exhibiting at Rail Live 2018 on Stand W74. Visit us on the stand or contact us to see how we can help provide solutions to your rail challenges!