Custom Attachment Design & Manufacturing – Speed to Market
Rail switches capture snow and can obstruct or limit the ability to perform track changes during harsh conditions. A Class I railroad maintenance of way company needed a blower to attach to field machines to clear tracks quickly without heat (preventing the melting of snow).
Ceres partnered with Vancer to design and build a solution that not only would improve upon the options available in the marketplace, but one that could be accomplished in five weeks ahead of the winter season.
Ceres engineers had a series of discovery meetings with the customer to determine required air speeds and define features that would achieve Vancer’s goals. A 21,500 cubic feet per minute (CFM) blower was selected and the team rushed to design a hydraulic system and enclosure. The cold air blower was mounted on an excavator with a rotating quick coupler.
Vancer’s Cold Air Blower has a hydraulically driven fan that forces a high velocity stream of air out through the nozzle, which is then used to blow snow away from tracks and switches. It contains cables with button stop ends used to break up ice and packed snow.
The first unit was delivered in five weeks and the CFM was 10% higher than competitors, allowing the blower to clear tracks quickly without the use of heat and keep switches from the problems associated with melting snow.
