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AEROSPACE AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING RAIL ELECTRONICS MEDIA & PR |
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The Heathrow Express fast rail link features seat pans produced from Superformed aluminium - the first time the Superform process has been applied in this way in production. The seat design is based on a prototype system devised by Superform a few years ago to demonstrate the suitability of the process to this application.
Some 2,600 seats have been produced at Worcester, from 1.2mm starting gauge an 5083 SPF aluminium alloy using the cavity forming method. The single surface tools were manufactured from CAD data and the formed sheets were trimmed using in house multi axis CNC trimming to produce the final component. The seats themselves were designed and assembled in Norway by Georg Eknes Industrier, where a fire resistant inter liner is applied to the pans before finishing with a fabric cover and mounting to an aluminium frame. SPF aluminium was chosen primarily for its light weight, strength and excellent fire performance. In tests (the results of which can be seen below), the seat exceeded all safety standards and out performed previous designs utilising plastics or fabricated assemblies. The Class 332 express sets run at 15 minute intervals at speeds up to 160 km/h from Paddington in central London to Heathrow Terminals 1,2 and 3. The journey time is just 16 minutes, with further 4 minutes being added to reach Terminal 4. In addition to the London connection, BAA uses the trains as a shuttle service between terminals. Each 230 seat express set features air conditioned carriages, with passenger facilities such as telephones and on line airline information. |
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