Model railway manufacturer has released a video showing how the assembly of wheel sets for its models is fully automated by its recent investment in a CNC (computer numerical control) machine.

Automating the assembly process has drastically cut the time to assemble a wheel set, and starts by loading an assembly machine with all the parts needed, including the individual wheels, axle bushes, and axles.

Wheels are loaded onto a conveyor, which feeds them into a bowl feeder, which is also loaded with more wheels for added capacity.

The axles and axle bushes are also loaded into bowl feeders. The wheel and axles feed from the bowl feeders into the assembly part of the machine, and the axle bushes drop down a chute.

Assembly starts with a bush being pressed onto an axle, which is then transferred to another part of the machine, where a wheel is positioned onto each side of the axle.

The wheel and axle assembly is then transferred to another part of the machine where the wheels are pressed fully onto the axle, before the complete wheel set is transferred to an inspection station.

The inspection station, checks the dimensions of the completed wheel set, the wheels are aligned square with the axle, and that the wheels rotate freely.

From start to finish, the assembly of a complete wheel set takes 22 seconds.

The new assembly procedure will now doubt have been used for wheelsets on Dapol’s new six-wheel tank wagons announced earlier this month. At the end of last year, the company installed a three-axis CNC machining centre that significantly increased the capability of the company’s tool room.