The specialities of Van Raam are tricycles, scooter bikes, tandems, duo bikes, wheelchair bikes, transport bikes, walking aids and low step through bikes. As each of these vehicles is manufactured individually, the numbers of tailor-made parts is huge. They need to be digitised in order to identify, analyse and eliminate quality problems as fast as possible.
That’s why Van Raam decided for GOM's ATOS ScanBox, a precise and efficient measuring solution for production monitoring. The company uses it for serial quality checks of the steel production parts and for incoming goods inspection of delivered rims. Based on the full-field scan data Van Raam is able to completely check the produced parts in order to initiate targeted corrective measures.
3D metrology ensures accurate work
According to Maarten Brummelman, assembly engineer at Van Raam, assembly problems often can be found in small details. "A chain guard was difficult to fit in the frame of a certain bike. The frame was clearly not fitting as it should, so we disassembled it and 3D-scanned it. After a comparison with the CAD model of the frame in the GOM Inspect Suite software, it turned out that the produced frame was much narrower. That was a consequence of the welding while manufacturing the frame."
"Thanks to the scan data, we could make a report and our production department could start adjusting immediately. This allowed us to adjust the frame until the chain guard could be neatly mounted. Thanks to 3D metrology, we can work much more accurately than before".
GOM Inspect Suite is key
A clear key factor is the GOM software. Sjoerd ter Horst, additive manufacturing engineer, emphasises the importance of the software.
"The software is key for us. All the scan data is put together in one digital 3D model. We can indicate checks with the surface comparison and pass this information on to the production department. This exchange is necessary because, when constructing a new bicycle, we inevitably make a frame that deviates from the theoretical CAD model. Now we base our production on actual data instead of theory. The more scan data we have, the better the results will be in the long run, and that makes for a nicer and tighter result. Ultimately, together with the production department, we achieve a higher quality of the produced frames".
Checking delivered bicycle parts
Van Raam also uses the ATOS ScanBox for quality control of rims. "The delivered rims should meet the set quality standards, such as roundness and flatness, but as we put safety first, we scan these rims in our ATOS ScanBox too" says Sjoerd ter Horst.
"If the scan data shows that the rims do not meet our quality standards, we send them back to the suppliers. Thanks to the metrology data, we have hard evidence and can continue with products that we are absolutely sure are safe”.
This article is sponsored by GOM.
