Atlas Copco rigs using turbo® Precleaners to protect engines and boost productivity

Properly maintaining equipment used in the mining process reduces downtime and avoids repair issues. In extremely dusty, demanding environments, protecting the engines of valuable machinery with precleaners can be a strategic way to reduce equipment breakdown and boost output. To achieve maximum efficiency, major drilling equipment provider Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions uses turbo® Precleaners on blasthole drill rigs worldwide.

These drilling rigs operate in iron, coal, gold and copper mines, very hostile environments where managing dust and debris is always a challenge. Because airborne contaminants cause premature wear and reduce the life of air filters, oil filters, oils and components in air compressors and engines, Atlas Copco’s engineers installed turbo® Precleaners PowerRamTM precleaners to prevent debris from entering the drill rig’s air intakes.

Due to the massive size of the drilling rigs, each Atlas Copco rig uses four turbo PowerRamswhich meet the requirements of large machines with engines requiring airflow of over 4,000 ft3/min. The company chose turbo® precleaners as critical ‘front line’ protection to ensure continuous operation in severe-duty applications. “A filtration failure from poor design or neglected service can damage critical components and shut down the entire rig,” said Nathan Wells, Atlas Copco design engineer. He continued, “Major parts replacement and labor costs are compounded with the remote locations of the mines, creating a downtime ripple effect – drilling rigs are the frontline of the overall mining process, so a rig down often means production delays as well.”

What sets turbo® Precleaners apart from other precleaner brands is a patented straight-through air flow pathway which creates less air intake restriction to optimise engine power. Engineered paddles create centrifugal force which ejects up to 85% of contaminants through discharge ports. This unique design effectively removes airborne debris including dust, dirt and moisture, including particles as small as 1 to 2 µm, ultimately allowing only filtered air into the engine for maximum performance.  According to Wells, “We have found that turbo Precleaners increase uptime with a longer service life, and they also eliminate having to manually empty dust cups.”

Maintenance not only includes downtime but also material cost. By extending the life of air filters, turbo® Precleaners reduce the expense of replacement filter purchases. This is particularly important today with a recent filtration industry trend towards air filters designed with media which cannot be cleaned but instead require complete replacement.

PowerRam precleaners feature an innovative directional scoop and a wide-angled air intake to improve engine performance by delivering more air to the engine.  Constructed with durable, powder coated steel and tested to ISO 5011 standards, these high airflow precleaners are designed to meet the performance needs of large engines requiring airflow between 400 and 1500 ft3/min. This makes them well-suited for the demands of many types of equipment used in mining. According to Tracy Long, turbo® Precleaners Director of Business Development, “Anything that has a diesel engine can benefit from air intake filtration, from drill rigs and bulldozers to dump trucks and hauling equipment.”

Atlas Copco’s Wells notes some of the key advantages the company has experienced with turbo® Precleaners, “They’re easy to install, reduce air restriction, deliver cleaner air and can handle the same extremes our rigs do.”

The picture shows four turbo® Precleaners PowerRamTM precleaners installed on Atlas Copco PV271 drill rig used in a gold mine in Nevada.

turbo® Precleaners is a product line of Maradyne Corp.