Laser-controlled switch tampers - Products - Brief Article

Railway Age, July, 2002

Plasser & Theurer offers a laser guidance system for more exact control of its switch tampers. The automatic laser control consists of a transmitter unit--a rotating laser--on the lifting/lining measuring car of the switch tamping machine and a laser receiver on the additional lifting device. The lifting value is determined by using the rotating using laser in exact relation to the lifting value at the point of application on the main rail. The resulting control signals act on the hydraulic cylinder of the additional lifting device. The cylinder will lift until the additional lifting clamp has raised the deflecting rail to the same plane as defined by the laser. In this way, the switch is aligned accurately over the entire width. Three high-capacity tamping machines for switches and plain track with a laser-controlled three-rail lifting device are available: Unimat 09-16 4S, Unimat 08-475 4S, and Unimat 08-475 4S. All Plasser switch maintenance machines with a three-rail lift can be equipped with the new au tomatic laser control.

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