In The Palm Of Your Hand – Knorr-Bremse Enables Self-Testing Of Computer Controlled Braking System For Rolling Stock
The CCB II – Computer Controlled Brake system, is a microprocessor network-based system that provides a faster and more precise response for full automatic and independent brake control on freight and passenger locomotives. CCB II, is considered the industry’s most reliable air brake system.
Knorr-Bremse South Africa, offers customers with CCB II brakes on their locomotives the ability to not only self-diagnose before having to call in technicians, but also the ability to perform a series of self-diagnostic tests on the EPCU (Electro-pneumatic control unit) to determine if all its components are functional.
“Should there be a problem, an error code on screen will identify the issue and allow technicians to respond according to a specific identified issue, which then reduces downtime of that particular asset. Traditionally, a technical representative would have to be called out, which could take time, and then components that need to be replaced would need to be ordered. The ability to self-test removes a significant amount of time spent on trouble shooting,” says Dirk Sieling (Electronic engineer and Field Service Manager).
The CCB II Self-Test platform provides a wireless user interface to perform a self-test on the CCB II brake system. The UI device communicates with the IPM (Integrated Processor Module) of the CCB2 brake system via a Bluetooth link, to initiate a self-test and proceeds to record all output data while the test is running. The CCB II test application runs on either an android/windows tablet or phone, to record and display real-time data while the self-test procedure is running on the IPM.
“The test results and all data captured is presented in the form of a test report after completion of the test. This can be stored for future reference for benchmarking or shared with the OEM to deal with any faults found,” says Sieling.
Aside from the ability to record data for future reference, a key benefit of the CCBII self-test monitor, the self-test option provides more detailed information, which is captured in the report, as opposed to a simple pass/fail message on the brake screen.
For more information contact :
Dirk Sieling – Dirk.Sieling@knorr-bremse.com