At the QME exhibition, the biennial Queensland Mining & Engineering exhibition held in Mackay, QLD, Australia from July 27 – 29, 2010, Bucyrus will exhibit its latest developments for underground and surface mining operations. In addition to specially featured products, Bucyrus will provide information on its expanded product range following the acquisition of Terex Mining. In February this year, Bucyrus finalised a deal with Terex Corporation for the acquisition of its mining equipment activities, including hydraulic mining excavators, off-highway mining trucks, rotary and hydraulic track drills, jumbo drills, and a highwall mining system.
Information on these product lines – which position Bucyrus as the world’s premiere supplier of mining equipment with 10,000 people serving its international customers at some 100 locations worldwide – will also be provided at QME.
Intelligent CST drive systems (Controlled Start Transmission) are designed for face conveyors in modern high performance longwalls that have to move enormous loads while withstanding huge load changes. Bucyrus CST drive systems transmit drive forces of up to 1,800 kW for every drive safely and reliably. Besides the unique features like overload protection, heavy load startup, accurate load sharing, and full use of installed power, the CST drive system allows sequential no load motor startup for minimum voltage drop in the electrical supply system. On display is a CST 45 gearbox which offers a maximum 800 kW (1250 hp).
The innovative PF 6 line pans from Bucyrus define the new state of the art for underground face conveyor technology and form the backbone of the entire conveyor system. The smart and totally new idea of splitting up the different functional areas in the PF6 allows the separation of wear parts from structural parts. Very hard, wear-resistant materials are used for parts subject to wear, while the structural parts are made of tough, high strength steels. The pan design allows problem free replacement of worn out top troughs and means substantially longer service life, and lower overall pan wear. Extremely smooth rolled steel surfaces and robot assisted automatic welding ensure even greater efficiency and lower friction.
As extraction rates and power requirements continue to climb, chain and sprocket wear is becoming more important. The Power Chain’s special flight bar design allows low-profile pan, drastically reducing surface pressure & chain joint wear. The design also nearly halves surface pressure at contact points – and reduced pressure means reduced wear. Reduced contact pressure also means minimum friction and lowest power requirements and implicates increased conveying capacity. Counter-intuitively, greater contact surface results in less friction and wear and as such cost savings due to decreased wear and longer life of chain, sprocket, and conveyor. The Power Chain can be retrofitted to existing conveyors.
Excellent automation is the basis for the success of a longwall – the quality and reliability of automation system are key factors in the success of the operation. Bucyrus is the only manufacturer able to provide a complete modular family of powerful controllers that integrate fully with Bucyrus longwall equipment. Designed for full integration, there are dedicated PMC® controllers for roof support systems, drive control, and drive visualisation. The controls are complemented by an advanced suite of visualisation applications to provide a clear overview of the system and its performance, and to allow trending and analysis.
The tried and tested PMC®-D/V drive control system has been upgraded to provide vibration monitoring (VM) to protect underground mining equipment. Called VibraGuard, this system allows trained personnel to predict machine component wear, avoid unplanned downtime, and set alarms to warn the operator if monitored machine components run the risk of damage.
Three special cameras for monitoring areas of interest in and around a longwall are also on display – the PMC-R camera is a simple but highly effective, and intrinsically safe, mine duty camera that attaches magnetically anywhere on a roof support and with simple serial connection to the PMC®-R. A special high definition camera which can be used, for example, at the headgate or tailgate features highly light sensitivity, 40x zoom, and dynamic bandwidth adjustment. A dome camera designed for mounting under the canopy of the roof support – for example to track the passing shearer – features 360° pan / 180° tilt at minimum 90°/sec. Pictures are sent to visualisation or process applications (for example, showing the shearer or plow position, conveyor load, or the position of roof supports at the longwall end).
Sophisticated new wireless and fiber-optic communication technologies with high baud rates requires new types of test & measurement equipment. Bucyrus has developed the Miner’s Digital Assistant (MDA) to meet this need. Designed for network and maintenance tasks underground and in explosion hazard areas, the MDA is intrinsically safe. A serial port allows direct connection to embedded controls such as Programmable Mining Controllers (PMCs), while a diagnostic port allows monitoring of communications and signal quality, and display of clients logged into the network. Furthermore with the MDA you will have the right information on your fingertips. Can store service documents, lists, product manuals and other information (or access these via network from underground). Maintenance checklists and a barcode scanner for longwall moves are also available.
The new VASTTM System (Value Added Simulation Training) for Bucyrus electric mining shovels will also debut at QME. A low cost solution only requiring VAST software, an updated Windows based PC, a monitor, and two joysticks, VAST cuts training costs and increases productivity. In the field, operators who have undergone VAST training consistently outperform operators who have not. Visitors to the Bucyrus booth are invited to test their abilities on this interactive display.
Bucyrus produces electric rope shovels with superior digging forces and rapid cycle times. A 1:50 scale model of a Bucyrus 495HR electric rope shovel is on display – most recently Bucyrus has sold the first 495HR to Westfarmers Curragh. This machine will be fitted with the revolutionary Bucyrus HydraCrowdTM, with a hydraulic cylinder replacing rack and pinion or rope crowd. HydraCrowd provides highly responsive control and smooth, vibration free operation, cutting downtime and increasing productivity.
HydraCrowd can be retrofit to existing Bucyrus 495HR shovels, but comes standard on the new Bucyrus 495HR²/HF². Featuring numerous Bucyrus innovations like increased propel power and the industry’s most inventive operator’s cab, we believe the 495HR²/HF² is the most advanced electric rope shovel ever produced!
Bucyrus hydraulic excavators offer superior productivity with fast cycle times, high bucket fill and a double-benching backhoe. To provide increased uptime and low operating cost, components are extremely accessible and unique features ease troubleshooting. On display will be the apron of an RH340 Face Shovel bucket fitted with Hensley GET (ground engaging tools). This is very kindly on loan from Rio Tinto Coal Australia’s Hail Creek mine.
Bucyrus has been at the forefront of rotary drill technology advancement for over 50 years, having produced some of the largest and most productive rotary drills in the mining industry. Innovations include a rotary bit change carousel, a forked pipe wrench, a reinforced 49 series drill mast, a 24 volt control system conversion, and an enhanced operator’s cab.
Draglines are the largest single-bucket excavators built today, and Bucyrus has led the world in the design, manufacture, relocation, and refurbishment of these majestic machines for nearly a century. On display is a 1:50 scale model of the Bucyrus 8750 dragline featuring AC gearless technology. The AC technology used – supported by Siemens – provides reduced downtime, maintenance costs, and energy consumption, as well as increased productivity. The 8750 boasts a 109 m boom, weights over 7,000 t and has a 109 m3 bucket.
A Bucyrus MT4400 1:50 scale model will be on display. Bucyrus manufactures mining trucks with payload capacities ranging from 136 to 362 t, and has the most comprehensive AC drive truck series in the mining industry.
