Rust flying from the machine and dust filling the workshop were familiar features of railway wheel cleaning for many years. During 2025, the introduction of a precise laser process changed that environment at the Jining rolling-stock depot of China Railway Hohhot Group. The former dust and water mist were reduced, workshop air improved and employees’ physical workload fell after the depot put its internally developed wheelset laser rust-removal machine into service.
“The previous equipment wore out quickly and broke down frequently, which affected our work,” maintenance foreman Ding Xuejun said. Employee Ji Gang recalled that badly corroded surfaces could not be cleaned adequately in one or two passes. These problems prompted the depot to investigate laser cleaning and begin its own development project.
Automating the complete operating line was the main challenge. Technical specialist Zhu Bin took responsibility for the automation work. He studied the unfamiliar technology and repeatedly tested and adjusted the system. “The hardest part was making the equipment adapt automatically to wheelsets with different levels of corrosion,” he said. After months of on-site work and more than a hundred rounds of adjustment, the team developed a stable automatic-control programme.
The new equipment has changed the rust-removal operation. The reported improvement in cleaning efficiency for an individual wheelset exceeds 50%.
Developed in response to practical production needs, the system has improved a formerly dusty working environment and provided an example of intelligent upgrading in an established maintenance operation.