Rail profiles are commonly measured using gauges to verify their conformity to a customer's requirements. A variety of characteristic dimensions such as rail height, the width and thickness of the foot, and inclinations on the bottom side of the rail head are of relevance to guarantee optimal performance. Gauge shape and characteristics to be measured are defined in German, European and International Standards. However, application of manually operated gauges (called gauges in the following) to selected sections of a rail does not yield continuous data and therefore may not always reflect the real dimensions of the rail along its length. They generate contestable results due to the chance factor involved in the selection of the tested section of the rail and the imprecision of the reading process. In addition, gauge mesurements are cost intensive due to the administrative overhead involved in keeping all gauges for various characteristics and many different profiles in stock and re-calibrating them at regular intervals. It is therefore desirable to automatically collect profile data over the whole length of a rail while it is being transported along a roller table with lateral guideways. This information can be used for both documentation purposes and improvement of the manufacturing process. The consequence of such measures is an early detection of irregularities in the manufacturing process which can then be corrected. By measuring the rail automatically while it is being transported, no extra time is needed for data collection, thus further decreasing costs.
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