COP Outcome development and evaluation

Design and most of the manufacturing take place in Access Automation's modest Lower Hutt workshop. After searching without success to find a suitable contract manufacturer, Access has employed staff who are multi-skilled and/or are specialist in one or two areas. A few areas require outside contractors; but to maintain quality control Access Automation insists that Mark Galvin and his team take responsibility for overall co-ordination and production.

Producing a cable car is a very labour intensive craft-type job. Among the tradespeople required are a glazier, a stainless steel manufacturer, a plastics person, a painter, a coachbuilder, an electrician, and an upholsterer.

Innovative technologies

Access Automation has developed its own products, to be able to supply a range of well engineered and safe cable car options. They have developed, for example, rails that bend and curve, dual safety braking systems, wheels and other mechanical components. It's a constant process of refinement, innovation and improvement. Stop improving, Mark Galvin says, and “someone will catch up with you."

Rails that bend and curve

People want access but they also want a system that will not detract from a property. With this come potential problems: existing pathways may clash with the obvious movement corridor, or it may not afford enough clearance. Access Automation has developed a range of innovative technologies that make rails bend and curve to custom fit a site. The rails don't have to be straight any more. The cable cars can turn corners to the extent of negotiating a 180-degree spiral; and technology patented by Mark Galvin allows the cars to remain level despite gradient changes.

Safety Dual Braking System

This fundamental part of the safety system is needed to provide the greatest range of protection. It consists of two independent brakes:

• a Slack Wire Brake, which protects against a broken wire rope
• an Over-speed Brake, which protects against electrical or mechanical failures that would allow the cable car to gradually accelerate and travel too fast

The Compact Bogie System

A carriage on a train has a set of wheels at the front and another at the back; the wheelsets are called bogies and they support the carriage. Access Automation uses the same terminology for their cable cars. The bogie is the compact unit about the size of an average briefcase. The whole cable car sits on and is supported by the bogie, which incorporates the wheels and the braking system.

There are about 3 different designs of bogie for the different models.

Standard Mechanical Models

As Access Automation do not know what the exact specifications of their next cable car will be, they have developed their own mechanical models in three basic designs that will allow components to be used in multiple gradients and installations. Standards ensure efficient use of resources, because economies of scale are possible when making multiples rather than one-offs.