DCA Design International came to us for the CNC machined tooling and GRP panels for a new full size mock-up of the Hitachi Class 800/801 train for the Department for Transport’s £5.7bn InterCity Express Programme (IEP). This project enabled us to showcase our unrivalled complete in house “one stop shop” utilizing our state of the art 5 Axis CNC machines alongside traditional skilled craftsmen.

Using production CAD supplied by DCA from the original Hitachi Rail Europe supplied CAD, we produced master patterns & moulds to create the tooling for the GRP panels for the cab exterior & carriage interiors.

We undertook the full assembly of the outer panels to the cab section on our premises using a DCA supplied fabricated steel super structure, returning this to DCA for interior fit out and painting. The carriage internal panels all supplied finished to 240 grit ready for DCA to fit and finish to the painted surface.

Using our 5 axis CNC machines we produced a mix of direct moulds for the low volume GRP moulds, with master patterns & GRP production moulds being utilised to produce the higher volume GRP panels. All the GRP panels were produced using class O fire retardant resin. The mock up has been used by Hitachi Rail Europe in finalising the interior form and function of the new train and promoting its use on our railways.

Images kindly supplied by DCA Design International