Product Review
Vision-Guided Railcar Opener Designed to Function Without Operator

Calbrandt Inc. has been manufacturing railcar indexers, railcar movers, and railcar gate openers since 1980.

At the 2010 GEAPS Exchange in Wichita, KS, the company introduced an automated, vision-guided railcar gate opener designed to function without an operator present.

According to Engineer Brad Goldbeck, the grain hopper car gate opener has proven to eliminate operator fatigue while providing reliable, repeatable service.

“The vision-guided railcar gate opener is effectively a robotic system,” he explains. “It utilizes a hydraulic motion controller and 3-D vision system to identify a capstan on the railcar and gauge its height, depth (distance from the opener), and degree of rotation. The unit then extends its chuck outward and opens the gate.”

The track-mounted device can be set up to recognize the capstan, he adds, as railcars move by or to move back and forth alongside parked railcars.

From January/February 2017 GRAIN JOURNAL