Simplified maintenance through modularisation and lower life-cycle costs are two cornerstones of Kiruna Wagon’s offering. Our proprietary TBU adapter is an example of products that reduce costs and increase the availability of railway wagons.
TBU adapters offer an effective way to move from earlier bearings and bearing boxes to using modern, inexpensive and accessible TBUs that are mounted on the wheel axle and connect to the simple adapter. This is a good alternative for new construction, but it is also easy to calculate the return on investment by rebuilding your existing wagons for more efficient wheel axle changes.
TBU stands for Tapered Bearing Unit, and it is an enclosed bearing permanently lubricated with grease and carefully sealed on the inside with a rubber labyrinth seal. The bearings on railway wagons are subjected to high stresses due to heavy wagon weight and vibrations. Instead of the traditional method of changing axles by opening the bearing box, the TBU on the end of the axle is changed before being easily fitted into the adapter on the wagon. The adapter provides space for the lateral movement of the axle and the vertical movement of the suspension.
TBUs are both accessible and cost-efficient, and we avoid the expensive work involved in opening bearing boxes. The photo shows our adapter as it looks when fitted on wagons at the Swedish Transport Administration and EuroMaint. Our TBU adapter can be easily tailored to the customer’s needs.
Kiruna Wagon’s TBU adapter as it looks when fitted on wagons at the Swedish Transport Administration and EuroMaint.
