Uremet prides itself on our engineering based, scientific approach to optimizing wheel design and performance and the research and development activities that are customized to solve individual customer problems. With that in mind, our engineering staff has recently invested a significant amount of time and effort in rolling resistance testing and analysis. These activities provide value to our OEM ride builder and amusement park customers by better understanding the affects that the wheel system has on the speed of their trains.
Rolling resistance testing is conducted on our proprietary, custom built wheel testing / ride simulating equipment using its built-in data acquisition system to log and analyze the data. Rolling resistance testing initially focused on measuring and analyzing the differences between types of tread materials at various applied loads and different ambient temperatures. We recently expanded this effort to test the impact of different greases, lubricants and bearings with and without seals as well.
Using this data we can better advise our customers about how different tread materials and / or changes to the wheel system, such as greases, lubricants, bearings, seals, etc., will impact the speed of their trains. We are happy to provide rolling resistance data and advice to our OEM ride builders to assist their engineers in ride design and our amusement park customers to help in operations and maintenance. Our rolling resistance testing is just another example of using our engineering and analytical approach to provide value to our customers and ensure that the quality and performance of our wheels remains at the top of the industry.