What should you look for when sourcing CNC machining for essential rail parts, such as bogie and suspension components?
1. Repeatability and reliability
Railway bogies are the complex structures in railway vehicles that support the railcar’s body and distribute its weight evenly. Bogies also contain the car’s wheels, suspension, and axles. CNC machining is well-suited to the manufacture of railway components as it ensures the repeatability and reliability of parts – especially those with complex structures.
At M-CNC, we use CAD/CAM programming to CNC machine intricate parts to incredibly high levels of precision. The high automation of CNC engineering also enables us to handle repeat volumes of parts. This can include high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) production – the manufacture of a variety of unique, complex parts in small quantities – and spare and legacy parts.
2. Tight tolerance machining
Railway bogies and suspension parts play a critical role in ensuring safety in the rail sector – and as such must be manufactured to meet tight tolerances. From load-bearing requirements to shock absorption, precision engineering is vital for preventing failures in railway components.
CNC machined parts are tested using powerful CAD/CAM software – even during the design stages of manufacture – to simulate how the part will perform in real-world environments. Design alterations can be made accordingly to ensure the part meets the tight safety tolerances demanded by the rail industry.
Using CAD/CAM programming in CNC machining enables us to:
- Make alterations to the design of a part quickly and with ease.
- Check that prototype components meet the specifications required.
- Streamline workflows, making part production efficient and cost effective.
3. Quality control
Every part passes through our stringent quality control processes to ensure it is fit for purpose. We conduct CMM measuring using our industry leading Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs) to check each part we manufacture is accurate down to the last micron.
CMMs precisely measure the physical geometry of parts. These machines check for any unexpected deviations from the original design, and ensure the finished product meets the demands outlined by that design. Once we finish inspecting a part, our CMMs generate quality control documents, including:
- Detailed inspection reports
- First article inspection reports (FAIR)
- Statistical analysis of process capability
This gives our clients a traceable record of their finished component.
4. Material traceability and compliance
Parts manufactured for the rail industry, including bogie and suspension components, must comply with strict rail safety standards.
Material traceability
At M-CNC, we provide full material traceability on all components we manufacture, including high-strength alloys. We have attained our AS9100 Rev D accreditation with BSI, showing that our Quality Management Systems (QMS) are robust and based on recognised principles.
Compliance
We have also gained RISQS verification, which enables rail companies to see important information about our business. It demonstrates our supply chain resilience, compliance with industry regulations and risk assessments, and reliability as a supplier.
