Revolutionizing Railway Safety: K-State’s New 3D Scanning System

Hey, check this out! K-State has come up with a cool new system to make railways safer. They’ve created a special 3D scanning system for the concrete industry that’s gonna make railroad tracks way safer. The system measures and reports critical indent measurements on wire used in the concrete industry, specifically for making concrete railroad ties that support the rails. The project was funded by the Federal Railroad Administration and Nucor LMP, and it’s been in the works for over 10 years. The research team found that the indent geometry on the steel wire is super important for the success of concrete ties, so they made a scanner to measure it. After some collaboration and improvements, they’ve now got a scanner that can process and report on 24 inches of wire in just a few minutes with super high precision. This new scanning system is already being accepted as the industry standard for quality control in the production of indented wire for the concrete industry. Insteel Industries, Inc. has already ordered one of these scanners, and more are on the way. This whole project is part of K-State’s initiative for economic growth and advancement in Kansas. It’s great to see universities working on real-world solutions like this!