ERICO Rail Joint Head Bonds User Manual

Refer to the mold tag for applicable instruction sheets. IPRSJ_C

CADWELD® Rail Joint Head Bonds

IPRSJ_C

WARNING: The area where the bond is to be

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.

SAFETY ALERT SYMBOL: Indicates warning or caution. It may

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be used in conjunction with other symbols or pictographs.

WARNING: Failure to obey a safety warning may result in

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property damage, 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

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damage, 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.

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applied must be sheltered 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.

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Workers should avoid 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

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must be properly 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. 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.

See Figure 1.

Safety Helmet

Safety Goggles

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 HEAD BONDS TO THE RAIL

WARNING: Do not attempt to make an exothermic bond

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until you have 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

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equipment, 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.

Cuffed Leather

FIGURE

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Jacket or Shirt

and Trousers

Safety Shoes

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

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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.

Gloves

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Refer to the mold tag for applicable instruction sheets. IPRSJ_C

CADWELD® Rail Joint Head Bonds

WARNING: Carefully following the instructions

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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

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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
a distance are required to reduce the spread of the fi re.

WARNING: The location of the bond is very important!

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The intent of a rail head bond is to electrically join two rail
sections. Rail head bonds must be done only within the confi nes
of the joint/splice bar as near to the bar center as practical.
Failure to observe this may result in a rail break leading to
property damage, injury or death to others. See Figure 2.

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or large quantities of water applied from

CAUTION: The bond terminals must have a bright surface.

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Failure to 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
Cleaner. Grinding wheels with resin binders may 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 head to be bonded must

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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, injury and death to
others. See Figure 5.

FIGURE

5

®

T-34 Rail Head

FIGURE

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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 rail must be dry prior to welding!

FIGURE

3

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

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applied 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: Grinding must not be done more than 4 hours

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prior 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

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drive off 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

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bond is only permissible in areas of minimal stress such as
the head of the rail within the confi nes of the joint/splice
bar! Remove the original bond by grinding down to a smooth

layer of parent rail steel.The new bond can then be made in the
same location as the previous bond.Failure to observe this may
result in a rail break leading to property damage, injury or death
to others.

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