ContiTech AG

ContiTech AG, ContiTech Railway Engineering
Philipsbornstraße 1
Hannover
D-30165
Germany

Tel: +49 511 938-50042
Fax: +49 511 938-5055

Website: http://www.contitech.de
Email: andreas.hass@as.contitech.de

Description

ContiTech Tracked for Success Worldwide

As a development partner and original equipment manufacturer for rail vehicle air suspension, ContiTech Railway Engineering focuses on high-tech, lightweight design and a global sales network

ContiTech is one of the world’s leading development partners and original equipment manufacturers for rail transport technology. It supplies high-tech products for suspension, interior trim and resilient track support and is thus active in the areas of wheel trucks, vehicle bodies and rail infrastructure. ContiTech is well positioned to develop perfectly customized products thanks to its international presence and its close collaboration with customers, including, in particular, vehicle manufacturers and train operators.
Railway products from ContiTech enhance the safety, riding comfort and cost-effectiveness of trains as a means of transport. The company sets standards in local and regional transit and in the high-speed train sector. Throughout the world, ContiTech contributes to a bright future for rail transportation.

Air springs from ContiTech and Phoenix

Components and systems, including rubber-to-metal components, for suspension and vibration-control technology provide the basis for all-in-one primary and secondary suspension concepts as well as for wheel trucks.
ContiTech Air Spring Systems groups together all its rail transport activities in the ContiTech Railway Engineering (CRE) product market segment. It is one of the world’s leading supplier in this sector. ContiTech’s Air Springs business unit develops and manufactures at 8 plants – in China, Germany, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, India and Turkey. The business unit can demonstrate certification to ISO 9001 and TS 16949. Almost all plants producing for the rail transport industry are certified to IRIS. Moreover, the ContiTech Air Spring Systems test laboratory in Hanover has become Europe’s and world-wide first air spring laboratory with certified independence: The lab meets the requirements for DIN EN ISO / IEC 17025 accreditation.

CRE’s air spring product range includes rolling lobe air springs, belted air springs, unrestricted diaphragm air springs, double-convolution air springs, customized all-in-one air spring systems (consisting of air springs and integrated auxiliary spring) and dedicated metal parts.

Technologies

Lightweight Construction: The less a train weighs, the more passengers and the greater the payload it can transport – and the less energy it requires for empty runs. With components in light-metal (aluminum) design, CRE shaves up to 40 percent off the weight of secondary suspension systems. Among the trains using a system with aluminum content is the Korean HEMU 400x high-speed train.In collaboration with the Korean Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) and , CRE is currently additionally developing a secondary system for weight-reduced fiber glass wheel trucks.

Sensor technology: In 2010 CRE presented a contactless height and pressure sensor that can be integrated into the air spring. With its integrated height and pressure sensor, ContiTech provides the technical basis for electronically controlled air suspension systems with electrically actuated valves.This innovation makes it possible for future rail vehicles to benefit from the advantages air-sprung road vehicles have long enjoyed: less loss of air, more exact regulation of the riding level and automatic variable-target-level adjustment. Electronic control considerably reduces the number of setting actuations required. The riding level is readjusted only when the vehicle experiences load changes due to passengers getting on or off the vehicle.

Rubber-metal spring: As a primary spring, the compact rubber-metal spring of the ContiTech MEGI® brand is used as support and wheel set control spring in the drive area of many low-floor and high-speed trains. CRE offers a wide range of springs of the cone or chevron type. As a secondary spring each of these is a component of ContiTech air suspension systems, supporting the interplay of stiffness and deflection.
Hydrosprings: These are special axle suspension systems, each consisting of a rubber-metal cone spring and an integrated self-contained hydraulic system. Integrated wear-free into the system, such suspension types render any external damping superfluous.

Integrated wireless chip: ContiTech Air Spring Systems’ new air suspension system with the integrated wireless chip opens up entirely new possibilities in production, logistics and service. Even after years of wear and tear and fouling, it is still possible to obtain clear product information using a pistol grip scanner. This eliminates the need to vulcanize a type ID into or affix it onto an air spring. The chip also offers reliable protection from pirated copies that, despite inferior quality, bear a strong outward resemblance to ContiTech products.

Worldwide enroute to success

High-speed trains equipped with air suspension components.
These include: ICE 3 (Germany), TGV and AGV (France), AVE (Spain), KTX1 and 2 (Korea), CRH 3 (China) and CRTL (high speed train between London and the Eurotunnel).

Local transit trains equipped. New metro systems in large Chinese metropolitan area such as Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzen, but also in India, Korea, Saudi Arabia and South America rely on air spring systems from ContiTech.

Solutions for difficult projects. For trains operating in very cold regions, ContiTech has developed suspension system materials that withstand extreme temperatures. For development of such materials, ContiTech developed the first air spring test rig with a climate chamber for rail vehicles. It can simulate real load conditions at a temperature range of -50°C to +120°C. The engineers from ContiTech run multi-axial tests in various degrees of freedom. The test rig can also handle large dimensions. A weight of up to 25 metric tons is no problem.

Global sales network Operators of rail vehicles attach great importance to being able to quickly obtain original parts suitable for on-site installation. To guarantee this, ContiTech Railway Engineering has a closely-knit sales network of experienced technicians on service 24/7 all around the globe. This ensures that the company remains within easy reach of customers even after installation of air suspension systems. As a rule it can respond to a call for original replacement parts in less than 24 hours and immediately install these – on location – in the train.

Listed in categories

Rolling stock |