Rothe Erde® Slewing Bearings.Application: Rail vehicles and articulated buses.

Ein Unternehmenvon ThyssenKrupp

TechnologiesRothe Erde

TK

2 Rothe Erde slewing bearings.International competence.

The consequent conversion ofconcepts into up-market, inno-vative products combined withwhole-hearted customer sup-port have been our strength formore than a century. Our suc-cess proves that we are on theright track in pursuing our goalof continuing to manufacturebearings of globally renownedexcellent quality.

Dortmund works

Title: The “Cobra” tramway

Lippstadt works

3

Turntable

Articulated bogie

Planning, development and de-sign are all part of an on-goingdialogue with our customers.Optimum solutions are discussedand carved out not only withregard to specific applicationsand designs but also in econo-mic respects. We believe thatour customers have a right toget the best quality and everypossible assistance from us.This guiding principle is the basisof a partnership that we trust isable to survive well into the future.

Our production program com-prises ball and roller bearingslewing rings, turntables andseamless rolled rings from steeland non-ferrous metal.

Total commitment to quality isthe central concern throughoutour production operations. Fromapplication consulting to designand production including com-prehensive customer service weare proud to be certified to theinternational quality standardDIN EN ISO 9001:2000.

Rothe Erde slewing bearings aretop-quality products reflecting ahighly advanced bearing technol-ogy to international leading stand-ards and offer the further advan-tage of worldwide availability.

Our production facilities in Ger-many and abroad make it easyfor rail vehicle construction com-panies to meet requirements ofindividual purchasers with regardto local procurement. In addition,Rothe Erde has its own salesagencies and representations inall major industrialised countries.

Rothe Erde operates the world-wide largest testing facility forslewing bearings. Our companyhas repeatedly inspired bearingtechnology with novel ideas andoffered innovative future-orientedsolutions to the market by inten-sive spot-on research and de-velopment. Rothe Erde expertscontinue to put all their expertise,power and creativity into furthertechnological advancement.

“Cobra” running gear

4 Rothe Erde slewing bearings.Structural components for rail vehicles.

Rothe Erde slewing rings becamefirst known in the fifties as rotaryelements in bogies. The greaterlengths of railway cars and theresulting multi-axle bogie designsmade it necessary to have arotary element between car bodyand bogie. The tight curve radii

which are quite frequent inshort-distance transport andrequire low structural height, goodfunctionality and drag resistancein a single component, couldonly be coped with by usingslewing bearings.

City railway car, type B Rheinbahn

5

This resulted in the typical bogiebearing, sectors of which areresting on a so-called bolsterbeam on the bogie side, whilethe inner ring can be screwed to the car body all around itscircumference.

All rail vehicle designers are pri-marily concerned with improvingalready achieved quiet runningcharacteristics, extending servicelife and reducing maintenancerequirements. The use of slewingbearings instead of pivot bear-ings or bogie pins with their la-teral slide blocks offered decisiveadvantages and created newdesign trends in this field ofapplication.

The development of semi-low-floor and ultra-low-floor vehicleshas boosted the use of slewingbearings in bogies.

Characteristic challenges onslewings rings concern theirdiameters and load capacitiesas well as special sealing sys-tems to protect them from dirt,water and dust.

Semi-low-floor vehicles are nowprofiting from the new full-cross-section slewing rings with regardto load capacity but with verysmall diameters. Due to theirshort distance from the groundthey have to meet special require-ments on their sealing systems.

Another special application is thearticulation in multi-articulatedlow-floor vehicles.

Drive bogie, city railway car, type B

Bogie bearingon bolster beam,city railway car, type B

6 Rothe Erde slewing bearings.Development and advantages.

In 1950, the first ball bearingslewing ring was installed into atramway bogie with such suc-cess that since then almost allbogies and articulated bogies intramway cars are being equippedwith Rothe Erde slewing rings.

Following today´s request forcomfortable boarding and un-boarding, Rothe Erde slewingrings are being used in low-floortramway cars – especially inarticulated bogies.

Low-floor tramway car, Magdeburg

7

Rothe Erde slewing bearings offer the following decisive advantages:

• Possibility of adaptation to rotational drag and damping

• Ready-to-install bearing unit with low structural height, low weight and high load capacity

Bogie bearing on bolster beam,low-floor tramway car, Magdeburg

Drive bogie bearing, low-floor tramway car, Magdeburg

Central articulated bogie bearing, low-floor tramway car, Magdeburg

• Bearing gaps protected againstdust and splash water by effective sealing systems

• Easy installation

• Open centre of slewing rings permits passage of other structural parts

• Transmission of all loads through one structural element

• When a tramway car is lifted, its parts are held together by the self-retaining slewing ring.

8 Rothe Erde slewing bearings.Design features.

Articulated bogie, “Cobra” low-floortramway

When installing a slewing ringinto a bogie, several conditionsshould be met in order to assuresmooth operation.

The characteristic bogie designusually requires two segmentsparallel to the direction of travelfor mounting the slewing ring onthe bogie bolster. However, thiscomponent is only fitted intohigh-floor vehicles which areused in combined service asunderground railway cars as well.

As a rule, the bearing support onthe chassis cross-beam shouldcover 360°. Deviating designsrequire joint technical evaluationby manufacturer and user.

The slewing ring must be fas-tened to the vehicle body andbolster by means of highstrengthquality bolts, which are dimen-sioned by Rothe Erde.

To relieve the bolted connectionfrom high horizontal forces asthey are likely to occur underbuffer impact, it is recommendedto weld catches transversely tothe direction of travel underneaththe vehicle body and on thebolster, destined to engage intomatching recesses milled intothe bearing flanges (see Fig.“Articulated bogie”).

Another possibility – as mention-ed before – is to provide center-ing devices on both bearing ringsto engage into correspondingcentering shoulders on the com-panion structure. Catches andcentering devices must be de-signed for close metal-on-metalcontact during braking to assurethat the bolted connection isrelieved from horizontal forces.

Fastening boreholes and recessesmay be arranged in sections of4 x 0° permitting to reinstall thebearing offset by 90° after acertain period of operation. Thisis a method to shift the stresssectors in the raceway of thebearing. An off-set reinstallationof the bearing is generally per-formed during main inspection.

9

“Cobra” drive bogie

“Cobra” articulated bogie

Central bogie, type San Francisco

Bogie, type San Francisco

The contact surfaces for thebearing rings on car body andbolster must be absolutely flat,which can be achieved by re-spective machining.

10 Application examples.Tramways and city railways.

Articulated bearing, Rheinbahn

Ball bearing slewing ring, Erfurt

Low-floor tramway, Rheinbahn

Low-floor tramway, Erfurt

The necessity of thorough ration-alisation measures faced by allpublic transport organisationshas led to the development oflarge-capacity vehicle units offer-ing a good personnel/efficiencyratio. Car length and capacity

are adapted to the specific trafficstructures of each city.

Mono-directional or bi-directionalcars are designed as 6-axleone-articulation or 8-axle two-articulation tramway cars.

11

Low-floor tramway, Kassel

City railway, Karlsruhe

Central bogie, Karlsruhe

For instance, an 8-axle two-articu-lation car consists of a three-partcar body with 4 bogies. The 2central free bogies assure the

articulation between the frontand rear motor cars and thecentral car.

12 Application examples.Low-floor tramways.

Variobahn, Duisburg

Ball bearing slewing ring, Variobahn

Continued development in tram-way systems has given us themodern low-floor tramway car.Low-floor vehicles are only pos-sible in the tramway sector. Theplatforms of underground rail-ways require greater boardingheights.

13

Variobahn, Mannheim

Low-floor tramways with ex-tremely low entrance levels alloweasy entry and exit of passengersand, thereby, shorter stoppingtimes. The purpose of Rothe Erdeslewing rings in low-floor tram-way cars is mainly to providearticulation.

The modular structure of low-floor vehicles allows to join asmany single components asdesired to provide the capacitywanted by the customer. Thereis no problem in building eithermono-directional or bi-directionaltramway cars.

14 Application examples.City railways.

City railway, type Oslo

Ball bearing slewing ring, type Oslo

Bogie, type Oslo

15

Tramway, type San Francisco

Bogie, type San Francisco

Slewing ring, type San Francisco

16 Application examples.Suburban trains and subways.

Tramway, type Boston

Bogie, type Boston

17

Subway, type Birmingham

Ball bearing slewing ring, type Birmingham

Suburban trains running on rail-way tracks (above-ground trans-port) as well as on tramway orsubway tracks (innercity trans-port) are the consequent evolu-tion of a modern large-city trans-port systems.

The narrow curve radii in inner-city traffic need bogies withrespective slewing bearings.

18 Application examples.Articulated buses.

Rothe Erde slewing rings are notonly installed in rail vehicles butalso in articulated buses.

Articulated buses are also expe-riencing a trend toward low-floorvehicles. This development goeshand in hand with new dimen-sional requirements, i.e. theslewing ring diameter must be-come smaller and the structuralheight lower in order to fit intothe space available.

The majority of articulated busesare so-called pushers, i.e. motorand entire drive unit are located inthe rear section, i.e. in the trailer.

This concept puts a lot of spe-cific requirements on the articu-lation such as buckling stability,for instance, which is achievedby means of a complicatedelectronically-controlled damp-ing system.

Articulated bus, type O 405 G Mannheim

Articulated slewing ring

The quite intricate design of thisbus demands a very specificperformance from the slewingrings installed. In contrast to railvehicles, we are dealing herewith much higher tilting momentsand radial forces.

Joining forces with the vehiclemanufacturers we have devel-oped various concepts assuringtrouble-free transport service.

Trolley Bus, Bern

Articulated bogies

19

20 Rothe Erde slewing bearings.Maintenance.

City railway car, Karlsruhe

Bogie bearing Articulated bearing

Bogie Articulated bogie

21

Prior to delivery, our bogie bearings are filled with speciallysuitable and proven long-timegreases.

These grease types have anexcellent adhesive power andageing resistance and providetherefore a good protectionagainst corrosion.

The respective grease type can be taken from the Mounting,Greasing and MaintenanceInstructions.

For normal operating conditions,the following maintenanceinstructions are applicable:

H.F. High-Floor• Maintenance-free up to an

operating time of 3 years- Check of the seals and re-

lubrication of the raceway

• Main inspection- Removal of the bearing and

check at Rothe Erde- Re-installation perhaps

displaced by 90°

Articulated bogie Bogie

N.F. Low-Floor • Check of the seals and re-

lubrication at least once a year

• Main inspection- Removal of the bearing and

check at Rothe Erde

For more details regarding in-spection of our bearings see ourmaintenance instructions.

For distances with extreme oper-ating conditions, shorter re-lubri-cation intervals should be takeninto account (for example inconnection with other mainten-ance work in the depository asthe change of the wheel rims etc.)

Depending on the operatingconditions, installed bearingsshould be re-lubricated throughall lubricating nipples as thelimited rotary movement of thebearing permits only a restrictedgrease distribution.

For re-lubrication, only the greasetypes specified in the mainten-ance instructions should be used.

Lubrication and inspection inter-vals should only be changedafter consultation with Rothe Erdesince the effects of a number ofinfluential factors are difficult toassess, e.g. the kilometric per-formance, the respective operat-ing time, the condition of therailtracks, etc.

Since the operating conditionsfor tramways, subways, andarticulated buses differ widely,sufficient relevant experience canonly be gained by systematicobservation over an extendedperiod of time before being ableto determine whether and towhat extent changes in mainten-ance and inspection intervals forslewing rings are necessary.

Whether a bearing is to be re-installed after a main inspectionor not depends on a variety offactors.

The slewing bearing is the con-necting element between carbody and bogie. In this functionit is rarely subjected to rotationalstress, i.e. the bogie bearing ismainly exposed to permanentvibration.

These vibrations result in so-called fretting corrosion. Theconstant friction of the rollingelements over a specific areacauses material abrasion in theraceways. The resulting ripplemarks give the impression ofindentations caused by over-loaded rolling elements.

However, such ripples are indeedquite common in bogie bearingsand are not the result of inden-tations from rolling elementsdue to overload. Although acertain volume of the hardenedmetal is removed by abrasion,the underlying metal structure isnot affected at all.

If the ripple marks found areranging up to 0.4 mm in depth,the bearing may continue to beused. In high-floor vehicles withbolster beam, the bearing shouldbe re-installed displaced by 90°.

Ripple formation cannot beavoided because of the prevail-ing service conditions.

The integrated management sys-tem put in place at Rothe Erdeincludes the following elements:

• Quality assurance system to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000,

• Environmental protection to DIN ISO 14001 and

• Industrial safety to OHSAS 18001.

Management-Handbuch Rothe Erde®

Produktbereich Großwälzlager.

„Qualität, Umweltschutz, Arbeitssicherheit“

Management handbook Rothe Erde®

Product range Slewing Ring Bearings.

„Quality, environmental control, industrial safety“

The basis of the managementsystem is the documentation ofall processes and sequences inprocedural and work instructions,taking account of the require-ments of statutes, statutoryregulations, guidelines, specifi-cations and agreements.

We can only achieve effectivequality assurance, environ-mental protection, industrial andplant safety with motivated em-ployees. The consciousness ofemployees at all levels is en-hanced by a regular exchangeof experiences, and by trainingand further education, that theyare able to act with competenceand responsibility.

Our products are designed andmanufactured to in-house stand-ards and specific customer re-quirements based on tried andproved calculation methods,design guidelines and productionprocesses.

Quality assurance, environmentalprotection and safety count forus among the economic successfactors.

Rothe Erde is aware of his re-sponsibility vis-à-vis his staff,his business partners, and thepopulation as a whole.

The declared aim is to supportand intensify customer relations,to manufacture products withthe highest quality and to mini-mise harmful effects on the en-vironment, persons and plants.Resource conservation and con-tinuous improvements to proc-esses are important features ofthe company’s policy.

22 MaQUS.The Rothe Erde integrated management system.

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Rothe Erde

Rothe Erde GmbHTremoniastrasse 5-11D-44137 DortmundPhone: +49 (2 31) 186 -0Fax: +49 (2 31) 186 -25 00E-mail: rotheerde@thyssenkrupp.comInternet: www.rotheerde.com

BerlinRothe Erde GmbHGeschäftsstelle BerlinWittestrasse 49D-13509 BerlinPhone: +49 (30) 43 09 18 68Fax: +49 (30) 43 60 57 46E-mail: gs-berlin.rotheerde@

thyssenkrupp.com

BrazilRobrasa Rolamentos EspeciaisRothe Erde Ltda.Rua Lidia Blank, No. 48BRA-CEP 09913-010, Diadema, São PauloPhone: +55 (11) 40 55 84 00Fax: +55 (11) 40 55 38 92E-mail: robrasa@robrasa.ind.brInternet: www.robrasa.ind.br

ChinaXuzhou Rothe Erde Slewing Bearing Co., Ltd.Wanzhai, Northern Suburb,VRC-Xuzhou 221007, JiangsuPhone: +86 (5 16) 87 66 18 12Fax: +86 (5 16) 87 76 90 00E-mail: xuzhou_rothe_erde@

xreb.comInternet: www.xreb.com

FranceRoballo France S.à r. l.30, Boulevard BelleriveF-92566 Rueil Malmaison CEDEXPhone: +33 (1) 41 39 00 90Fax: +33 (1) 41 39 00 99E-mail: contact@roballo-

france.com

NorthRothe Erde GmbHGeschäftsstelle NordAm Pferdemarkt 31D-30853 LangenhagenPhone: +49 (5 11) 7 25 35 69-0Fax: +49 (5 11) 7 25 35 69-9E-mail: gs-nord.rotheerde@

thyssenkrupp.com

SouthRothe Erde GmbHGeschäftsstelle SüdAm Ostkai 15D-70327 StuttgartPhone: +49 (7 11) 3 27 79 19-0Fax: +49 (7 11) 3 27 79 19-9E-mail: gs-sued.rotheerde@

thyssenkrupp.com

Great BritainRoballo Engineering Co. Ltd.Mill HillNorth West Industrial EstateGB-Peterlee, Co. Durham SR8 2HRPhone: +44 (1 91) 5 18 56 00Fax: +44 (1 91) 5 86 90 96E-mail: info@roballo.co.ukInternet: www.roballo.co.uk

IndiaRothe Erde GmbHLiaison Office IndiaC-16, Bhagat Singh MargOff Prabhu Marg Tilak NagarIND-Jaipur 302 004Phone: +91 (1 41) 2 62 42 47Fax: +91 (1 41) 2 62 42 30 E-mail: re_india@vsnl.netInternet: www.rotheerdeindia.com

ItalyRothe Erde-Metallurgica RossiS.p.A.Viale Kennedy, 56I-25010 Visano (Brescia)Phone: +39 (0 30) 95 20-1Fax: +39 (0 30) 95 20- 3 00E-mail: mri@rotheerde.itInternet: www.rotheerde.it

JapanNippon Roballo Co., Ltd.Fukide Bldg., 7th FloorToranomon 4-1-13J-Minato-Ku/TokyoZip: 1 05-00 01Phone: +81 (3) 34 34 43 41Fax: +81 (3) 34 34 43 40E-mail: info@roballo.co.jpInternet: www.roballo.co.jp

SpainRoteisaRothe Erde Ibérica S.A.Carretera Castellón, km. 7Polígono Industrial „La Cartuja“E-50720 La Cartuja Baja (Zaragoza)Phone: +34 (9 76) 50 04 80Fax: +34 (9 76) 50 01 54E-mail: roteisa@roteisa.esInternet: www.roteisa.es

USARotek Incorporated1400 South Chillicothe Rd.P.O. Box 312USA-Aurora, Ohio 44202Phone: +1 (3 30) 5 62 40 00Fax: +1 (3 30) 5 62 46 20E-mail: sales@rotek-inc.comInternet: www.rotek-inc.com

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