FTI Railtec – Cold Bolt Hole Expansion (CBX)
HIRD Rail Development (HRD) is the appointed Global Reseller for Fatigue Technology (FTI), the world’s leading authority on the cold bolt hole expansion process used all over the world, from North America to the United Kingdom and Australia.
The RailTec CBX process was developed for the rail industry by FTI as a preventative system to reduce rail breakages, track-related incidents and derailments. The life of bolt holes is increased significantly by producing a zone of residual compressive stress around them by using the RailTec CBX expansion mandrel and proprietary lubricated split sleeves.
Easily applied to all main line or branch line tracks as part of routine maintenance, rails with small fatigue cracks can be reworked and safely returned to service. The system can also be used during the manufacture of rails, level crossings, frogs and switches.