Mechan - Lifting Jacks, Wheelset and Bogie Drops, Jib Cranes and Depot Personnel Protection Systems

Using traditional engineering skills, innovative design and advanced technology, Sheffield engineering group Mechan supplies specialist heavy-lifting, handling and control equipment for train maintenance depots. Products include jib cranes, lifting jacks, wheelset and bogie drops, bogie rotators and lifters, control systems and depot personnel protection systems.

Established in 1969, Mechan is active in new product development and further refinement of its datakey-based SMART™ depot personnel protection system for supply to the global rail industry. Other customers include aerospace, petrochemical and general engineering companies.

INTELLIGENT LIFTING JACKS

Mechan's intelligent lifting jacks incorporate tough yet refined hardware and the 'intelligent' Micro-Link control system that enables co-ordinated multiple use of jacks to 3mm tolerance. Operations may be controlled safely and accurately from any of the linked jacks.

Flexibility of installation is also a feature. Mobile jacks, with either a fixed or moving anvil, are quick to install, interlink and substitute if necessary. Rail-mounted jacks with moving anvils are another option. The Mechan range of jacks, from 5t to 45t, has been devised to cater for all usages: tram, metro, light rail, main-line or heavy on-track plant.

Mechan’s general-purpose lifting products, including swing jib cranes, have various rail applications. Cranes may be freestanding or wall-mounted, with either chain or wire rope hoists. Over 700 formats are available with standard capacities up to five tonnes.

BOGIE DROPS AND HANDLING GEAR

Demand for Mechan’s bogie and wheelset drop systems has surged as the latest rolling stock is maintained at purpose-built traincare centres operated by train manufacturers to ensure high fleet availability. At many locations, Mechan bogie drop systems were specified in the original depot design.

Drop systems facilitate safe and swift removal and replacement of entire bogies, wheelsets and underfloor units from rail vehicles without decoupling. This makes a bogie change feasible within a two-hour timescale, with time savings on other underfloor work.

The scissor-type hydraulic system has been used at some depots but Mechan’s ‘intelligent’ screw-jack mechanism is now favoured both for its operating qualities and greatly reduced pit-depth requirement, which minimises civil costs.

Other bogie handling devices include bogie rotators to lift and rotate bogie frames, and in-floor bogie lifters to aid maintenance access. Electric and manual bogie and wheelset turntables facilitate transfer between roads within and outside depots. Bogie presses apply weight to a bogie to simulate loads imposed by the rail vehicle.

DEPOT PERSONNEL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

The technologically advanced controls that ensure precise and safe operation of Mechan’s jacks and other equipment have been developed to create comprehensive systems to monitor and control activities in traincare depots. The SMART™ depot personnel protection system from Mechan aids efficient operation and improves staff safety.

Depot staff have personal details and authorisation levels programmed into a robust datakey that is used for logging onto or off the system and managing access to specific depot areas. Management can control the movement of vehicles and, via networked road-end panels, control powered derailers, overhead line isolation, shunt signals, door interlock switches and other equipment.

With Mechan's Depot Manager™ software in place, management and operatives may use plasma-screen technology to access essential status information from sources such as train washes, protection systems, rail jacks, bogie drops and train tagging. Fault investigation and diagnosis plus downtime and incident investigation are also facilitated.

The SMART depot personnel protection system and Mechan bogie drops were chosen by Siemens for its four Desiro maintenance depots around the UK network. Mechan equipment has also been installed at London's Temple Mills (CTRL), Selhurst (Southern) and Old Oak Common (Heathrow Express) depots. Two SMART depot personnel protection systems for Dubai Metro are among the export orders gained.