FFU Synthetic Wood

 

Working with FFU on a project

FFU synthetic wood railway sleepers can be machined or worked on the project in the same conventional way as sleepers of natural wood. Making bore holes, sawing, milling and chiselling FFU synthetic wood is possible with the use of standard tools.

Practical experience

Being non-porous as well as highly dimensionally stable ensure a long-lasting functionality of FFU synthetic wood. In order to utilise this essentila technical benefit compared to natural wood it is important that the specifications of the manufacturer are adhered to when making bore diameters, e.g. for the sleeper screws of the rail fastening.

Advantages of FFU compared to natural wood are greater hardness and almost total freedom from pores, whereby the operating life of the tools used can be easily optimised by using WIDEA tools or boring tools for steel materials.

When machining FFU synthetic wood on a project care must be taken of the heat developing on the tools. This is easily achieved by slightly reducing the RPM and the tool feed rate. This also prevents the glass fibres melting due to overheating. At any rate, the prevalent working regulations must be adhered to.

Worksite logistics

The specific weight of FFU synthetic wood is approximately 740 kg/m3, thus offering the same advantages as natural wood for transportation to the worksite.
Dimensional stability together with milled grooves and false edges already generated at the factory allow on-site work to be performed speedily, accurately and safely.

Track possessions

The work effort and periods of track possession can be optimised so that the track is soon available again for train operation.

Downloads

Working guidelines FFU