Portable metrology in tram building

The Bombardier Transportation works at Bautzen in eastern Germany constructs trams for municipalities all over the world to satisfy the increasing demand for public transport. Design, environmental compatibility and safety feature highly in every tender for new trams. With the objective of surpassing these high requirements, Bombardier secures the necessary quality in the Bautzen factory with mobile 3D measuring systems from Hexagon Metrology.

The complex geography of many urban areas means that trams and light railways are indispensable. They are symbols of modern city life and allow urban journeys to progress simply and rapidly through heavy traffic. Trams have been made at Bautzen since 1896. In those days they got their power in a different way than they do today: there were no overhead lines, instead trams were steam-driven or pulled by horses. The issues to be addressed in the development and construction of modern trams by Bombardier Transportation stand in remarkable contrast to those in the pioneering times of public transport, which were concerned simply with the transport of people from A to B. Low-floor construction and quiet operation are only two of the qualities demanded of contemporary cars. In addition urban transport operators are interested in high reliability, minimum maintenance and low energy use.

Quality: the sum of perfect individual parts

In the production of trams, Bombardier places great emphasis on accuracy, however the long operating life of a vehicle and hence its competitive edge depend on the quality of the individual parts and how they are put together. Peter Haase, who is responsible for inspection provision at the Bautzen works, has opted for a portable coordinate measuring machine solution for his 3D measurement tasks in the form of the ROMER Absolute Arm.

Incoming parts have to undergo a stringent examination, above all during first article inspection in preparation for the introduction of a new product series. Peter Haase explains: “We define a number of measurement points, which we then compare with the design data. If we find the part is outside the tolerances, we are in a position to intervene at the earliest possible stage in the manufacture of the part and eliminate the defect from the production process.” The ROMER measuring arms at Bombardier, which have measurement ranges...