The Application
Foremost Industrial supports OEMs and end users across demanding industries, including railroad maintenance equipment.
For one of their rail customers, Foremost was involved in the build of a train wheelset lathe used to re-condition rail wheelsets — a process where precision, torque control, and reliability are critical.
The Challenge
Historically, these machines were built using DC motors. For this new build, the OEM decided to transition to AC motors paired with VFDs, introducing a new concern:
“Could two AC motors run at the same speed while sharing load evenly during heavy cutting?”
With wheelsets only able to be re-conditioned one time, there was zero margin for instability or uneven torque.
The T-T Electric Solution
Working alongside Foremost Industrial, T-T Electric supplied AC motors matched for the application and supported the control strategy.
The system uses two Toshiba VFDs connected through a shared Ethernet network:
- One drive operates in speed control
- The second operates in torque control
The result was exactly what the OEM needed.
As the customer put it:
“They share the load perfectly.”
The lathe is capable of removing up to ½” of material per revolution, maintaining consistent speed and balanced load even under extreme cutting forces.
The Takeaway
This project highlighted the value of strong collaboration between distributor, motor manufacturer, and end user.
By combining Foremost Industrial’s application expertise with T-T Electric’s motor support, the customer gained confidence in moving away from legacy DC systems — without sacrificing performance, control, or reliability.
