ROLLING STOCK SPECIAL
Richard Carr, managing director of Mechan, looks at the latest developments in laser technology and how innovation has improved the efficiency of measurement and inspection of wheelsets.
W
ith the industry keen to retain its reputation for safety, train opera-
tors and maintenance providers are look- ing at new ways to carry out wheelset meas- urement that provide greater accuracy and efficiency. As every engineer knows, safety on track starts with regular assessments and accuracy in wheelset measurement.
However, wheelset and brake disk meas- urement is a time consuming process - each wheel has to be measured individually and in many cases this is still carried out man- ually with measuring gauges. This is nor- mally a two-person job, with one measur- ing and one recording the data, which can take several minutes to complete for each wheel. On a standard 72-wheel vehicle, the whole process can take up to eight hours, using a conventional, manual system. Then there’s the need to accurately log the individual measurements on computer to be recorded and monitored. Again, this is a time-consuming job open to human error at any stage that could affect its accuracy, leaving the operator at risk.
Train operators are well aware of their safety responsibilities and the need to protect passengers, their workforce and the public. Responding to this need in the market, the Calipri Wheel system was de- veloped by NextSense in Austria, for which Mechan became the sole supplier for the UK and Ireland in 2009.
For it to be commercially viable, a new system of measurement needed to bring both time efficiencies and introduce a higher level of accuracy, as well as being user-friendly. Carrying lots of different equipment is also a drawback of tradition- al methods of measurement. There was a very real need in the market for a hand- held measuring device that involves one multifunctional piece of equipment that can be carried by a single operator.
One of the first priorities, therefore, was to design a system of automatic measure- ment, without the need for the engineer to make physical contact with the wheel or brake disk. The obvious benefits are that this would make it much quicker and easier to take accurate measurements. The system was developed with a laser sensor that could be moved by hand over the rail- road wheel, or the object to be measured.
38 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 11 CASE STUDY: Irish Rail
The optoelectronic gauge records geo- metrical data for any complex-shaped object and can be individually tailored to the needs of each user. This was par- ticularly important for Irish Rail. The fact that Ireland’s rolling stock runs on tracks that are wider than standard UK tracks means its requirements are completely bespoke. It has its own manufacturing facility for wheelsets to suit the very spe- cific needs of its rolling stock.
This process takes about ten seconds, dur- ing which it records segments of the wheel profile or object and combines them to give an accurate picture of the wheel. It also provides acoustic feedback signals to support the user during the measurement process.
Research suggested train operators were looking for technology that meant wheel and brake disk profiling could be carried out by a single operator, as part of making more efficient use of engineers’ time.
With the Calipri system, as soon as the entire profile line of the wheel has been recorded, the data is evaluated and the re- sulting measurement values are visible on its display. Any cases of given tolerances being exceeded are revealed immediately. Downtime is kept to a minimum and there is no need for data to be logged manually or entered into a keyboard for analysis later on. The software means these meas- urements can be stored and reviewed at regular intervals and become an impor- tant part of the ongoing repair and main- tenance schedule.
As well as measuring wheelsets, this tech- nology can be used for other applications, such as brake disk inspection, clearance of the rail wheels, wheel diameter, wheel de- fects and wear inspection of the rails and point switches. To make analysis and visu- alisation of the wheel profile even easier, the system also has the option of Calipri Explorer, enabling the creation of indi- vidual reports of this type.
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Irish Rail’s chief mechanical engineer Peter Smyth was looking for a system that could be used to ensure produc- tion accuracy at the very tight tolerances required in their wheelset production process. He was also looking for it to form part of their ongoing maintenance schedule. The company was looking for a system that would radically update its approach, providing the train operator with a greater level of measurement ac- curacy and saving their engineers’ time.
The mechanical gauges Irish Rail had used in the past meant logging details manually and then taking them back to the office to be entered separately onto a computer system. With the new system, Smyth estimates the whole measurement process will be at least four or five times quicker than their previous method.
Smyth said: “Wheel safety is vital and this innovative new system will provide us with a much more effective method of maintaining high safety standards, which will mean we can more easily record and monitor wheel profiles. Because we will also be using it in our manufacturing plant, it will further enhance our abilities to meet the tight tolerances required in the wheel production process.”
Mechan’s Richard Carr concludes: “There has been a great deal of innovation in wheelset measurement in the past few years, with the ultimate beneficiaries be- ing the train operators, who will receive a more accurate assessment of their rolling stock. Ultimately, this will help to further enhance rail’s reputation for safe opera- tion, in the interests of passengers, staff and the industry in general.”
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