{"id":12745,"date":"2019-06-14T10:00:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=12745"},"modified":"2019-06-11T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T10:49:13","slug":"refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every train is fitted with alternators to generate electrical power and each one has an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) card that ensures the correct voltage is produced.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, in some cases, reliability has become an issue for these cards, which has led <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sulzer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Sulzer (opens in a new tab)\">Sulzer<\/a><\/strong> to develop a service to repair or redesign and manufacture replacement AVR cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The function of an AVR is to maintain the output voltage of a generator at a constant value that is independent of the generator loading or temperature.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"494\" height=\"712\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic2_PR5613_34690.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic2_PR5613_34690.jpg 494w, https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic2_PR5613_34690-208x300.jpg 208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 494px) 100vw, 494px\" \/><figcaption>Precision manufacturing using improved components offers benefits over original parts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are numerous alternator designs used on trains developed by individual manufacturers, and each one uses a different design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the event of a fault, AVRs are quite easy to replace as a service item and rail maintenance depots hold spares as a matter of course.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, like-for-like replacement doesn\u2019t get to the root of the problem or improve performance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pro-active approach is required where the component is analysed and re-designed to ensure better reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, there have been numerous manufacturers of alternators supplying the rail industry and this has led to a myriad of different components being used on the national rolling stock fleet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of them have since fallen by the wayside, leaving operators little choice but to replace complete alternator assemblies when only the AVR is at fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To address this issue, part of Sulzer\u2019s rail engineering team has set up a program to assess, redesign and manufacture replacement AVRs that will offer improved reliability.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The aim is to reduce lost availability of rolling stock and to minimize the costs associated with AVR repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul Keely, Technical Manager Sulzer Rail Competence Center, explains: \u201cWe can assess an existing design, take account of current reliability issues and use this information to design and manufacture a replacement. Using a thorough design and test procedure, an improved design can be created and manufactured to overcome issues with support and supply from OEMs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working closely with rail operators, the design team aims to identify any issues or concerns with the existing AVR designs and create long-lasting solutions that promote reliability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every train is fitted with alternators to generate electrical power and each one has an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) card that ensures the correct voltage is produced.&nbsp; However, in some cases, reliability has become an issue for these cards, which has led Sulzer to develop a service to repair or redesign and manufacture replacement AVR &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6484,6485,58,108,6483],"class_list":["post-12745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-process","tag-automatic-voltage-regulator","tag-avr","tag-rail","tag-sulzer","tag-voltage-regulation-cards"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Design improvements offer better reliability for rail industry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards - Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Design improvements offer better reliability for rail industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-14T09:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"headline\":\"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-14T09:00:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":370,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"automatic voltage regulator\",\"AVR\",\"rail\",\"Sulzer\",\"voltage regulation cards\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Process\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/\",\"name\":\"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards - Engineer News Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-14T09:00:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\"},\"description\":\"Design improvements offer better reliability for rail industry\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg\",\"width\":2559,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"Sulzer can redesign and manufacture new AVR cards for improved reliability\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Engineer News Network\",\"description\":\"The ultimate online news and information resource for today's engineer\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards - Engineer News Network","description":"Design improvements offer better reliability for rail industry","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards - Engineer News Network","og_description":"Design improvements offer better reliability for rail industry","og_url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/","og_site_name":"Engineer News Network","article_published_time":"2019-06-14T09:00:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675-1024x683.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1"},"headline":"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards","datePublished":"2019-06-14T09:00:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/"},"wordCount":370,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg","keywords":["automatic voltage regulator","AVR","rail","Sulzer","voltage regulation cards"],"articleSection":["Process"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/","name":"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards - Engineer News Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-14T09:00:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1"},"description":"Design improvements offer better reliability for rail industry","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/SulzerDMA257_AVR_card_redesign_Pic1_PR5613_34675.jpg","width":2559,"height":1706,"caption":"Sulzer can redesign and manufacture new AVR cards for improved reliability"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/refurbishing-and-repair-of-voltage-regulation-cards\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Refurbishing and repair of voltage regulation cards"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/","name":"Engineer News Network","description":"The ultimate online news and information resource for today's engineer","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4477342aea8e299c6a21761e513ea8e1","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12745"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12748,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12745\/revisions\/12748"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}