ERICO CADWELD Rail Grounding Connections – Web Bonds User Manual

Refer to the mold tag for applicable instruction sheets. IPRGW_B

CADWELD® Rail Grounding Connections – Web Bonds

I. HOW TO READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS/WHAT THE SYMBOLS MEAN

The purpose of safety symbols is to attract your attention to possible
dangers. The safety symbols, and the explanations with them, deserve
your careful attention and understanding. The safety warnings do not by
themselves eliminate any danger. The instructions and warnings are not
substitutes for proper accident prevention measures.

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SAFETY ALERT SYMBOL: Indicates warning or caution. It may be used in
conjunction with other symbols or pictographs.

WARNING: Failure to obey a safety warning may result in property damage,

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serious personal injury or death, and the serious personal injury or death of others.
Always follow the safety precautions to reduce these risks.

CAUTION: Failure to obey a safety caution may result in property damage,

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personal injury, and injury to others. Always follow the safety precautions to
reduce the risk of fi re, other property damage and personal injury.

NOTE: Advises you of information or instructions vital to the operation or
maintenance of the equipment.

In the following instructions, cautions and warnings, there are two types of
consequences for failure to heed:

A. IMMEDIATE, that may result in personal injury or a failed operation that
may result in a less than optimum bond and that will not give the physical
and electrical performance expected.

B. EVENTUAL, that may result in a later premature rail break, causing a serious
derailment accident with personal injuries or death, and loss of property.

II. GENERAL RULES FOR SAFETY IN THE APPLICATION OF EXOTHERMIC
JOINT HEAD BONDS AND WEB BONDS TO RAIL

WARNING: Do not attempt to make an exothermic bond until you have

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thoroughly read and understand the instructions that accompany all of
the various components of the system and have been properly trained in
the use of this product. Use only the system components designed to be
used together from a single manufacturer. Failure to comply may result in

unsatisfactory bonding as well as accidents involving fi re, personal injury, and
rail damage that may lead to property damage, injury or death.

WARNING: Only the correct grinding equipment, welding equipment,

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welding material, and bonds designed for the specifi c application
must be used. All items used must be designed and supplied by the same

manufacturer. All items must be in good condition and not worn, altered or
damaged. Failure to do so may result in an unsafe application with the risk
of personal injury and/or a less than optimum bond.

WARNING: The area where the bond is to be applied must be sheltered

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suffi ciently if the weather is inclement. This is to keep the
rail surface, all equipment, and materials dry until the weld is
completed. Failure to do so may result in an unsafe application
with the risk of personal injury and a less than optimum bond.

CAUTION: The work area must be well ventilated. Workers should avoid

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breathing the smoke of the exothermic reaction by positioning
themselves upwind of the mold before igniting the welding
material. After ignition, it is advisable to step back from the mold.
Failure to observe this instruction may result in lung irritation.

WARNING: The worker(s) performing the welding must be properly

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dressed and equipped. Examples include cotton or woolen
garments (most synthetic fabrics melt rather than char when
exposed to fl ame, causing severe burns), safety footwear with
non-slip soles, head protection, leather gloves, eye goggles and other clothing
and equipment recommended or required by the person’s employer, industry
practice, or applicable laws and regulations. See Figure 1. The worker(s)
must not be under the infl uence of any alcohol, drugs or other chemicals
that would impair their judgment or performance of the job. Failure to
observe this may result in serious personal injury.

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Safety Helmet

Safety Goggles

Cuffed Leather
Gloves

Jacket or Shirt

and Trousers

Safety Shoes

CAUTION: The worker(s) must be certain that they can achieve

good footing in the area where the weld will be done.

They should be able to step away from the weld reaction, to be
upwind of it. Failure to observe this may result in personal injury.

WARNING: Carefully following the instructions for exothermic

bonding is very important to achieving a quality reliable
bond. Failure to do so may cause hidden potential problems,

the least of which is a poor electrical connection, and the
most serious of which is an eventual broken rail leading to property
damage, injury or death to the installer and others.

III. PREPARATION

WARNING: Protect against potential fi re hazards local to the

bonding area and remove all fl ammable materials
from the work area. Notify in advance other workers
in the immediate area that a welding procedure is
about to be done. Failure to do this increases the risk of fi re with the

possibility of property damage, personal injury and death.

NOTE: In case of a fi re involving large quantities of exothermic welding
material, CO
required to reduce the spread of the fi re.

WARNING: The location of the

bond is very important! Rail track

connection web bonds must be
made at the neutral axis of the rail.
Failure to observe this may result
in a rail break leading to property
damage, injury or death to others.

TRACK CONNECTION BONDING
MUST NEVER BE DONE ON OR
NEAR THE HEAD OR BASE OF
THE RAIL. See Figure 2.

1. Clean the rail surface and bond
terminals. Scrape off excess dirt
and grease, and wipe away any
remaining residue using a clean
rag saturated with a railroad
approved solvent. See Figure 3.
The cable and rail surface must
be dry prior to welding!

or large quantities of water applied from a distance are

2

Neutral

Axis

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 3

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Refer to the mold tag for applicable instruction sheets. IPRGW_B

CADWELD® Rail Grounding Connections – Web Bonds

WARNING: The area of the rail where the web bond will be applied

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and the bond terminals must be clean and dry. Failure to comply
can cause poor bonding, excessive weld porosity, and/or spewing molten
welding material with the potential for serious burns to the worker.

2. Use abrasive cloth or wire brush on the bond terminals if needed to
remove surface oxidation.

CAUTION: The bond terminals must have a bright surface. Failure to

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comply with this may result in a less than optimal weld. See Figure 4.

FIGURE 4

3. Lightly grind the rail surface using an ERICO approved grinding wheel
that is self-cleaning or a CADWELD

®

brand Rail Head and Web Cleaner
(Part SBB394C). Grinding wheels with resin binders tend to leave a
surface fi lm that may contaminate the surface, interfering with the
achievement of an optimum bond and causing weld porosity.

WARNING: The area of the rail web to

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be bonded must be lightly ground to a
bright fi nish with no visible scratch marks
or gouges (normal uniform fi nishing marks
are acceptable). Failure to observe this may

result in visible scratches or gouges due to overly
aggressive grinding that are potential crack
initiators and that may lead to rail breaks causing
derailment accidents with property damage,

FIGURE 5

injury and death to others. See Figure 5.

CAUTION: Grinding must not be done more than 4 hours prior

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to bonding. If the time lapse is longer, suffi cient contaminating rust may
re-form requiring additional grinding. Failure to observe this may result in
a less than optimum bond.

4. Dry the mold and rail by heating them to about 250°F (120°C) with
a small propane torch.

WARNING: The rail and mold must both be warmed to drive off

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moisture. Failure to observe this may result in weld spatter with the
potential for serious burn injury, and a less than optimum bond with
excessive porosity. See Figure 6.

FIGURE 6

WARNING: Rebonding over the application of an earlier web bond

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is strictly forbidden! Rebonds must be applied at least two inches away
(centerline to centerline) from an earlier bond to avoid serious structural
harm to the rail. Failure to observe this may result in a rail break leading to
property damage, injury or death to others.

WARNING: Back-to-back bonding of web bonds is strictly forbidden!

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Bonds made on the opposite side of the rail to an earlier web bond must be
applied at least two inches away (centerline to centerline) from the earlier
bond to avoid serious structural harm to the rail. Failure to observe this may
result in a rail break leading to property damage, injury or death to others.

CAUTION: Install only the

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specifi ed welding material
in the mold crucible. Use only

the welding material size that
is specifi ed on the mold. ERICO
brand of welding material (F80) is
formulated specifi cally for use with
rail steels; it is packaged in a blue
tube with a yellow cap. Dump all
of the welding material into the
crucible, then carefully tap the tube
on a hard surface to loosen the
starting material from the bottom
of the tube and distribute half
on top of the welding material,
close the mold cover, and pour the
remainder in the opening of the

1/2 Starting Material

Crucible Cover

1/2 Starting Material

Welding Material

Disk

FIGURE 7

mold cover. See Figure 7. Failure
to comply may result in diffi culty
getting the reaction started and/or
an unacceptable weld.

CAUTION: Avoid direct eye contact with the “fl ash” of light from

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the ignition of the starting material.

5. Position yourself upwind of the mold, on the fi eld side of the rail.
Place the tip of the fl int igniter at the cover opening and ignite.
Remove the igniter quickly to prevent fouling.

CAUTION: Allow 15 seconds for mold cooling after the reaction.

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This will permit the molten metal to solidify. Then carefully disengage the
welder device and pull the mold straight back from the rail. Failure to
observe this may result in mold damage and its premature scrapping.
Molds can generally be re-used up to 50 times.

6. Carefully open the mold cover and break up the slag in the crucible
using the blade of the mold cleaning tool. Dump the slag from the
crucible and remove slag from the taphole using the curved end of
the mold cleaner. Dump slag in the ballast, not onto the ties.

7. Check the molds for breakage or residual slag before proceeding
with the next weld.

Note: If you have any questions or require further instructions, or would
like training, contact ERICO at 1-800-447-7245.

WARNING:

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1. Connections should not be made to load bearing rail steel other than at the neutral axis of the rail or at the head of the rail within
the confi nes of the joint/splice bar.

2. All connections to rail steel should only be made where the rails are fully supported, or to rail that is non-load bearing in its use.

3. The welding material size for the connection to rail steel should not be greater than 250 grams (which, in general, corresponds
to a maximum cable size of 500 kcmil (240 mm

Copyright ©2010, 2012 ERICO International Corporation. All rights reserved.
CADDY, CADWELD, CRITEC, ERICO, ERIFLEX, ERITECH, and LENTON are registered trademarks of ERICO International Corporation.

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IPRGW_B R1073S10WWEN PUR0312