FAQ

Which one is right for my business - the Wheel Press Recorder, the Universal Press Recorder or the Wheel Press Gage?
Can I print my own barcode labels?

Is the data safe?

What keeps someone from tampering with the charts on the disk?

How are backups made?

Don't electronic gauges show too much ripple in the mounting diagram?

Are the press recorders AAR approved?

How often do the press recorders have to be calibrated?

How many years of data can be stored before I have to remove old data?

What if my parts do not have barcodes on them?

What happens when I remount a wheel?

When will bearings have barcodes on them?

Can I send this information to my customers electronically?

Can the information stored in the press recorder database be transferred to car shops or other divisions?

Are the press recorders available in languages other than English?

What about technical support?

Which one is right for my business - the Wheel Press Recorder or Universal Press Recorder?

The WPR is a computerized system for recording pressure while mounting freight wheelsets. Geared for high volume production (100 or more wheelsets / day).

The UPR is a computerized system for recording pressure while mounting axle assemblies for train wheels, bearings, axles, gears, discs, etc.. The UPR was developed to meet the needs of locomotive, transit and specialty wheel shops.

The WPG is designed to replace the manual strip chart recorders with no frills. It stores limited amounts of data and does not offer search capabilities. The WPG prints every chart immediately after the press is complete.

Can I print my own barcode labels?

Yes. Our recorders allow the press operator to enter either a wheel or axle serial number manually then print a barcode label with the serial number on it.

Is the data safe?

Yes. The data is stored on a local hard disk and to a backup hard disk immediately after the mount is complete. The enclosure is rated NEMA 12 / IP55 for use in industrial environments. You should also backup your data regularly.

What keeps someone from tampering with the charts on the disk?

Our chart data is encrypted so that no one can delete or modify charts—no more lifting the pen! There is no electronically stored data that is 100% safe from tampering, but we spend a lot of time making our data safe.

How are backups made?

Either locally with an optional mass storage device such as CD-R or over the Ethernet network when it is available. Five years worth of data can be backed up in about 10 minutes. Try that with 5 years worth of strip charts!

Don't electronic gauges show too much ripple in the mounting diagram?

They can. Our press recorders have adjustments for smoothing out "normal" pressure ripples that are seen by high speed electronic data collection devices that cannot be seen by the mechanical gauges. Smoothing the ripples has its limits. At some point you begin to affect the accuracy of the machine and therefore you can overdo the adjustments. These settings are adjusted at installation time by our technicians.

Are the press recorders AAR approved?

Yes, our press recorders are AAR approved. The WPR has been in operation since 1995 and been used in hundreds of audits. We have been told by our customers that the inspectors like it. Inspectors have said that it makes the audits go smoother. Because our systems require users to follow the AAR guidelines, inspectors recommend it. We have several installations that are in AAR approved wheel shops that were started up using our recorders.

How often do the press recorders have to be calibrated?

Per rule 1.E.1 the recorder must be within 2 percent of the Master gauge. Though the press recorder is a precision gauge, it has not been approved as a replacement for the Master gauge. We recommend that it be checked every six months when the Master gauge is checked and re-calibrated to the Master Gauge as required. When you have the proper tools, calibration can be performed in less than 10 minutes. See our Sample Calibration Procedure or a Sample Calibration Report.

How many years of data can be stored before I have to remove old data?

The standard press recorder database can store data for over one million wheelsets. Higher capacity databases are available.

What if my parts do not have barcodes on them?

At any point where barcode scanning is permitted, manual data entry is also allowed. We realize that sometimes barcodes are torn, dirty or missing.

What happens when I remount a wheel?

The press recorder can detect duplicate wheel serial numbers and notify the operator. When the wheel is a remount, the operator just indicates that they want to keep the duplicate. There have been legitimate cases of duplicate serial numbers being detected by our press recorder. In this case, the operator can append another character onto the serial number or continue.

When will bearings have barcodes on them?

Timken is currently applying labels to bearings with the serial number barcoded. Our Bearing Tracking Station and the UPR both work with these labels.

Can I send this information to my customers electronically?

Yes. Chart Manager allows you to e-mail charts and wheelset information.

Can the information stored in the press recorder database be transferred to car shops or other divisions?

Yes. We provide the ability to export the wheel set data to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file, which is almost universally supported by database programs, spreadsheets, etc. This will extract the associated information for a wheelset, i.e., axle serial number, wheel serial numbers, tape size, bore size, wheel class, etc. There are several car shops now receiving data this way.

We have a standard for electronic interchange of wheelset data in UPR (UPR.XML). Also, the data is stored in an ODBC compatible database so that most any desktop database can produce queries and reports. Programs that can access the data include Microsoft^® Access, Microsoft^® Excel, Paradox^® and any ODBC compliant program. However, due to the sensitive nature of the graph data, you cannot access the charts.

Are the press recorders available in languages other than English?

The UPR is available in Simplified Chinese.

We are currently developing Spanish and French versions. We can localize the programs for any language please ask!

The WPG is available in Spanish. New programming techniques are employed to allow the customer to change the language. Just specify your language choice.

What about technical support?

Support is available 24/7. See Support.

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