Railroad Performance Composites

Norplex-Micarta manufactures materials that are sound dampening, corrosion resistant, mechanically strong, and meet demanding FST requirements, including electrical and thermal insulators.

As a supplier of railroad performance composites, we focus on increasing reliability while reducing component cost and weight.

These objectives can be met by replacing metal or cast components with high performance composite railroad materials. Norplex-Micarta offers a full line of these composites in sheet, tube, rod, and prepreg forms that are certified to meet the most challenging rail and mass transit requirements. From braking systems to electrical insulation components for subway cars, Norplex-Micarta is the preferred railroad performance composites supplier for OEMs and fabricators around the world.

Norplex-Micarta Composite Materials provide excellent mechanical strength at a relatively low weight.

Light-weight components must exhibit excellent tensile, compressive, shear, and flexural strength. They must also withstand the initial impact force of installation, as well as the repeated stress of inspection and repair. Creep resistance is also an important performance criteria. Norplex-Micarta composites exhibit excellent creep resistance, making them a good alternative to standard thermoplastics.

Norplex-Micarta composites offer insulation properties when used as an electrical barrier between metal parts. They also feature low toxicity/burn characteristics critical for applications in mass transit applications. Some materials are self-extinguishing to minimize damage in the case of fi re or explosion.

Thermoset Composites as Railroad and Subway Supports

Being a railroad performance composites supplier, our composites provide electrical insulation for motor mounts, generator mounts and surrounding electrical equipment for rail and mass transit environments. For subway applications, our composite materials provide electrical insulation between the car and the electrical current running from the third rail to the motor.

Want to learn more about specific application areas?

High Voltage Insulation

sheet and shape

Mechanically Strong

Utilizing tough, temperature resistant, resin systems on various reinforcements to deliver robust design options.

Lightweighting

prepreg, sheet, shapes

Achieving Minimum Mass

Various reinforcements such as carbon, glass, and aramids that can be used alone or in hybrid systems to create new materials that are predictable, reliable, and repeatable.

Bearing and Wear

sheet and tube

Tribology

Utilizing well-known resin systems with new and innovative reinforcements to optimize the bulk and tribological properties of composites for demanding bearing and wear applications.

Does a new design challenge require a unique material solution?
Speak with one of our applications engineers to discuss how Norplex-Micarta’s thermoset composites can be designed for your specific application.