In the past few years the requirements on the materials used for the construction of rail vehicles have risen.

By using new material combinations and fibre composites it is possible to produce lightweight but extremely rigid components, as an alternative for metallic materials.
Based on the static and dynamic demands on the materials, it is possible to choose the most attractive and most efficient production method out of a pool of manufacturing procedures.
The most common procedures are the hand lay-up, spray-up moulding and different resin injection procedures, as well as the SMC hot moulding and the prepreg lay-up.
With the hand lay-up process components sophisticated geometric forms can be manufactured and parts - fasteners, for example - can be attached during processing. This procedure is commonly used for interiors and exteriors of rail vehicle front ends.
To produce medium-size elements spay-up moulding is an economical attractive alternative.
For components with higher mechanical requirements (eg impact or crush resistance) an optimised procedure is the vacuum injection moulding - especially for the production of end caps for rail vehicles, but also for other large components such as front spoilers and roof vacuum injection moulding.
The SMC hot moulding procedure is dedicated for the production of large lots. It requires higher investments in thesteel-made moulds amortise with very short clock cycles. Therefore it is commonly used to produce components that can be found several times within a train, such as window frames, sidewall covers and ceiling elements.
Using pre-coloured SMC materials, it is possible to set a further surface finish aside. Pre-coloured SMC may be used, for example for seat pans.
The highest mechanical attributescan be reached with processingpre-impregnated fibre mats in the prepreg lay up procedure.
With its high quota of fibre materials it guarantees the best results regarding to mechanical properties and weight. The prepreg lay up is dedicated to the production of complete a driver's cab and similar A-components, which requirehigh strength as well as lowest possible weight.

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RCS GmbH (Rail Components and Systems) is based in Konigsbruck, Germany. www.railcomsys.net