Rail Clips

Patented Solution

Whether it’s cranes traveling on rail or machinery moving on specialty tracks, our GANTREX® clips, with our types: boltable and weldable, combined with GANTREX® pads, constitute the essence of the industry-proven soft rail fixing system.

First, let’s set the basics: what is a rail clip?

A rail clip is the component used to attach the rail to the track supporting structure. Rail clips are typically made of metal and are designed to securely hold the rail laterally, while also allowing for some longitudinal movement and expansion due to temperature change and other factors.

What is the purpose of a rail clip?

Properly transfer the lateral force from the rail into the steel plate and structure
Secure the rail in the lateral direction to minimize pad creep
Apply vertical force on the rail to compress the seals on the pad

To properly transfer the lateral forces from the rail into the steel plate or structure the rail needs to be secured in the lateral direction by appropriately sized clips. The clips also need to properly mitigate dynamic loads without backing off the rail. Gantrex RailLok clips incorporate the new and patented active contact technology which slightly tilts the bolts during clip installation ensuring the clip properly engages with the tow of the rail. The Active contact within the clip also improves the clip performance under dynamic applications ensuring clip stability which means the clip stays engaged with the rail longer without backing off.

Clip spacing and clip sizing is extremely important for the best performance of the system as a whole. To minimize pad creep we need to minimize lateral rail movement, this is done by properly sizing the clips and ensuring proper clip spacing. Clip spacing is normally calculated to keep lateral rail deflections within allowable parameters specific to your application. It is also extremely important to ensure proper performance of the clips under dynamic loads, if the clip backs off the rail and the rail is allowed to move the in the lateral direction then pad creep will persist. Gantrex Active Contact RailLok Clips are the industries leader in securing the rail under dynamic applications, the clips engage with the rail for longer minimize the possibility of pad creep.

Each Gantrex RailLok clip comes with a rubber nose. The rubber nose is designed to apply a vertical force on the rail to compress the seals on the pad while accommodating uplift forces induced on the rail through further compression of the nose. The initial compression of the nose is extremely important for the proper performance of the system. Over compress the nose and all minute vertical movements of the rail will be transferred directly into the clip bolts allowing for fatigue to act. Under compress the nose and the seals on the pad will not work properly allowing for the ingress of dirt and water which will fail the pad over time. Gantrex has 16 different nose and clip upper combinations for each rail clip to properly accommodate the 70 different rail profiles available in the market. Please contact us to pick the appropriate clips for your particular application.

For all the factors mentioned above, it is very important to select the right clip for your application to ensure the clip can transfer all the lateral forces that are applied on it. It is even more important to accurately select the right clip upper component and rubber nose height combination to mitigate the effects of uplift forces while applying the correct force on the pad to secure it in place and to properly compress the edge seals.

Our GANTREX® patented clips are at the core of our soft-mount crane rail solutions and can fit just about every rail profile available worldwide. Our clips maintain rails in position via a mechanical lock and, simultaneously, accept the real rail movements through a soft synthetic elastomer nose, vulcanize-bonded to the clips, designed to accommodate the forces applied to rails by cranes.

Lateral adjustment facilitates the installation and allows for further corrections to the track geometry throughout its life.

Designed as stress resistant, their mechanical performances have been certified and tested by worldwide renowned laboratories for the specialized Rail Tracks Construction.

Our clips are suited for every application that requires fixing a rail track:

All types of industrial overhead cranes and transfer cars systems
STS and automated portal cranes, stacker-reclaimers
Loaders and unloaders for bulk material handling
Automated stacker cranes for warehouse industry
Special heavy load applications such as retractable roofs and rocket movers

RAILLOK™ INNOVATIVE DESIGN

Through the introduction of our patented RailLok™ clips and pads, Gantrex has literally rewritten the state of the art. This technology ensures active-contact between the clip and rail. With this patented feature of the Active Contact the use of impact drills is possible as the bolt tilts during torquing to push the clip against the toe of the rail, reducing installation time. The patented technology increases the clips capacity to address ever growing crane loads and provides a narrower design allowing operational and financial savings.

The Active contact feature of the RailLok clips improves clip performance in dynamic applications and maintains clip stability by reducing the possibility of the clip backing off from the toe of the rail.

The Gantrex RailLok Clip patent is filed under the following numbers across the world: US8205803B2, EP2173947B1, CN101720371B

As a truly global company, we have several clip production sites across the world, from EU origin production to local US production where we are producing a range of “Made in America” clips. Whatever you need – we can accommodate for all local specifics.

RailLok™ clips are available in weldable and boltable versions for different fixing supports. The mechanical performances of the stress resistant clips were certified and tested by worldwide renowned laboratories for specialized Rail Tracks Construction.

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Product Range

Weldable Clip

Boltable Clip

Weldable clips

The welded clip comprises of two parts, the welded lower and adjustable upper part.  The lower part is welded to the steel support and the upper part is fixed to the lower part via captive bolt(s).

Click below to find out more about our weldable RailLok range of clips

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Boltable clips

The RailLok boltable clip consists of two interacting elements which allow easy lateral rail adjustment.  The clip is fixed to the rail by means of bolt(s) inserted through the holes made in the steel support and adjusted in the lateral direction via the use of a specially designed cam.

Click below to find out more about our Boltable RailLok range of clips!

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Weldable Clip

Weldable clips

The welded clip comprises of two parts, the welded lower and adjustable upper part.  The lower part is welded to the steel support and the upper part is fixed to the lower part via captive bolt(s).

Click below to find out more about our weldable RailLok range of clips

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Boltable Clip

Boltable clips

Click below to find out more about our Boltable RailLok range of clips!

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