TAMPING: Plasser & Theurer has developed a new design of tamping tine which can be fitted to existing machines, where it will give a longer service life and thus be more cost-effective than existing designs.
It features a slimmer shaft to reduce penetration resistance, and the underside of the tine plate has a 5° slant so that a counterforce is built up as the tine penetrates, providing relief where the tine is mounted in the tamping unit. This lowers stresses on the tine and reduces wearing forces.
Testing has been undertaken in Austria and in Turkey, where inspection of a Duomatic 09-32 CAT machine found no wear after 270 000 tamping insertions.
