Future of rail under discussion at RAILWAY FORUM Berlin

SWINDON, U.K. – August 29, 2017 – TE Connectivity (TE), a world leader in connectivity and sensors, announced its participation at stand E03 in the 5th RAILWAY FORUM Berlin 2017 in the Estral Convention Center in Berlin, Germany, August 30-31, 2017.

“There has never been more innovation in the rail industry and at the same time, never so much competition from other modes of transport from autonomous vehicles and electric cars to low-cost air travel,” said Robert Ullstrom, manager of sales and marketing, TE Connectivity`s Industrial Rail group. “Connectivity is the catalyst for innovation in all modes of transportation. This is an opportunity to showcase how TE leads in connectivity and sensors, and discussing with customers and industry insiders how we can work together to design a greener and more cost-efficient future for rail.”

In addtion to being involved in conversations about the future or rail, TE will display its solutions for the rail industry. For the first time, JAQUET Technology, a TE company, will join TE at its stand. TE’s product highlights will include its JAQUET ALPHABOX and its next-generation roofline system.

ALPHABOX is JAQUET’s predictive diagnostic system for combustion engines. It allows operators to optimize maintenance by monitoring the condition of diesel engines and their components as well as bogie bearings. For example, an engine’s time-based maintenance schedule may require all injectors to be replaced at a cost of several hundred Euros each, whether or not they are defective. However, the diagnostics from ALPHABOX will give the operator confidence to delay the replacement of injectors until they are approaching the end of their life, thus saving unnecessary costs.

ALPHABOX achieves this using non-invasive speed sensors to measure the torsional vibration of shafts, such as crankshafts, camshafts and shafts in bogies. All such shafts experience torsional vibration; however, the pattern of vibrations changes over time as components age. ALPHABOX picks up subtle but significant changes to vibration long before other signs become apparent. A single sensor on an engine’s crankshaft will give insight into the general health of an engine. Adding a second sensor on the camshaft enables the system to pinpoint the precise location of faults in bearings, fuel injection or wear inside cylinders. Additional sensors can be applied to turbochargers and bogies.

TE’s next-generation roofline system, another product they’ll be exhibiting at the rail forum, can help limit the overall height of double-decker rolling stock and, most importantly, reduce the train’s energy consumption and carbon emissions by improving aerodynamic performance. Its role is to transmit electrical power from the pantograph to the traction transformer in electric trains. TE produced the new modular system by replacing air gaps with high-performance, solid, dielectric material. Whereas the insulating performance of air is affected by factors such as humidity and pollution, the new dielectric material performs consistently in all environments so that manufacturers can use a single design for any operating environment and all weather conditions.

Please visit TE at stand E03 at the 5th RAILWAY FORUM.

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