Guide rail
Guide rails for moving a body on a given path are used as profile rail guides , cage rail guides or telescopic rail guides in linear technology . They are used in rail conveyor systems for the transport of light goods in buildings and production plants and as part of the vehicle equipment for fastening seats. As safety rails , which are supposed to guide the wheels of the derailed vehicle after a derailment, they are also a special component in the track of a train .
Guide rails in elevator systems
Elevator cabins , and also the counterweight in traction sheave systems, are guided by at least two steel rails .
Guide rail with rail holder and bracket screws
Rail joint with butt joint, tongue and groove and screw connection
Guide rail with clamping plate attachment
Mode of action
The rails are subjected to both bending (with cantilever or “rucksack” suspension or off-center loading of the car) and pressure (during the catching process ). You must therefore demonstrate a sufficiently high buckling resistance. To ensure smooth and trouble-free operation, the guide rails must be aligned exactly straight and parallel. Since the tolerances for shell structures are considerably higher, the support structures (rail holders) with which the rails are attached to the shaft wall must have adjustment options that enable precise alignment. Depending on the type of elevator, payload, strength of the wall, speed and distance of the hanger brackets, the appropriate rail profile is determined by calculation.
Material, manufacture and construction
The guide rails have a T-profile and are standardized according to ISO 7465. They are made of structural steel , in rare cases also of stainless steel , which are hot rolled in profile rollers and then cold drawn and calibrated. In the subsequent further processing, they are straightened and planed with different levels of precision, depending on the intended conveying speed. The rails have a tongue or groove at the ends so that they can be placed exactly on top of one another and four holes at each end through which they are screwed together with so-called butt plates. The usual length is 5 m.
Assembly
After measuring the shaft and installing the hanger brackets, the rails are mounted. It is attached to the hanger brackets with clamping plates or so-called bracket screws. Loosening locks are used for all screw connections. The rails are aligned during installation or after assembly. At the same time, the exactly vertical course, the parallelism and twisting of the rails are measured and set. In the past, this was generally done with gauges and plumb bobs, but laser-assisted optical measuring systems are now used for high-speed systems. The desired tolerance is less than 1 mm. After assembly, the rail joints are smoothed with a rail planer or belt sander to enable low-noise and vibration-free driving through these areas.