China3D printingNet November 1st, British infrastructure support service provider Amey revealed that it will3D printingThe internal plan applied to train track renewal. Through a conceptual drawing provided by the Swiss robotic arm manufacturer ABB, the company demonstrated the structure of an independent maintenance vehicle that can move along the railway line and troubleshoot and replace faults. The company estimates that although it is still in the early stages, the use of this system can refurbish more than 60% of the UK’s railway lines, saving material economy and efficiency every year, and saving more than 40 million pounds.
“existAmey, We are exploring the use in the railway field from the track update3D printing. “AmeySimon Grundy, Consulting and Railway Innovation Manager wrote.
” 3D printingIt will completely change how we perform trajectory updates. “
Robot on the railway
Amey was founded in 1921 as a quarry operator. In continuous development during World War II, the company helped establish the Royal Air Force Base. It is now a subsidiary of Ferrovial, a Spanish multinational transportation company.
Since 2018, Amey has signed a railway maintenance and construction contract for Network Rail, covering the East Midlands, London and the northwestern United Kingdom. In the context of increasing demand, it is reported that the number of passengers used for these services has doubled in the past 20 years. Despite the changes in passenger flow, many of the existing railway lines in the UK have remained the same, and the network is now under increasing pressure to update its transportation infrastructure to better meet the needs of the public. Currently, this requires a lot of manual labor.
Grundy said:The 190,000 staff on British Railways are constantly working to ensure that the network remains operational. However, every second they are in orbit is facing danger.A feasible solution to protect these workers In order to quickly meet the maintenance requirements, we have adopted on-site automatic3D printingTechnology. This will not only greatly reduce the occurrence of accidents, but also enable these employees to master the skills to use this new technology, thereby providing future protection for our employees.
Since the robotic system will work faster and more efficiently, thereby reducing the refurbishment time, passengers will also benefit from this system. Grundy added: “The main advantage is that it reduces the time required. In the future, light refurbishment can be carried out on a regular basis.“
3D printingIn situ repair
Field robot developed by Amey3D printingThe unit is currently focused on the maintenance and renovation of switches and intersections. “This is a part that is prone to wear and tear. It is one of the most important infrastructure on the railway.” Grundy pointed out, “This project brings together the most advanced technology, from metrology to Check the current state of the railway, and then move on to adaptive and automatic material removal to remove old tracks.”
In one concept, the ABB robotic arm is used to pick up and move most of the rails. In the second picture, the picture shows a smaller robotic arm installed in a railway carriage with machinery and gas tanks. The second picture presents a system in which metal can be deposited on broken wire segments. The company also hopes to be able to achieve large-scale additive manufacturing in this project, repairing several meters of track at a time.
3D printing
Guide rail renovation concept “alt=” Amey’s robot
3D printing
Guide rail renovation concept” />
Amey’s robot3D printingRail refurbishment concept. Picture from ABB
China3D printingWind Comments:
Although this is a challenging project, Amey’s3D printingThe concept of orbit is not unprecedented. With the application of large-scale technologies such as WAAM and EBAMM in the aerospace and marine industries, there have been ways to realize this concept.Elsewhere, the American multinational engineering company AECOM will also3D printingUsed in the modernization of transportation networks.After testing Bristol Parkway, the company developed3D printingArches can be used to install new digital signal equipment.For Angel Trains of the British Locomotive Operating Company (ROSCO), integrating3D printingAs a way of supplying spare parts. For Stratasys, an Angel Trains partner, the entire railway industry has become an important area of opportunity after automotive investment has stagnated.
China3D printingNet original article!
(Editor in charge: admin)
0 Comments for “AMEY evaluates robotic 3D printers used for on-site restoration of the British rail network”