Caterpillar has introduced a new two-piece bucket for hydraulic mining shovels that, it says, reduces downtime, optimises bucket capacity and increases rebuild safety.

The design reduces downtime by limiting refurbishment to the area of the bucket subjected to most of the wear – the basket.

“The replaceable basket enables faster, easier and safer rebuilds compared to traditional buckets,” the company said. “In addition, the basket design can evolve with mine site conditions to further reduce downtime and optimise capacity over the life of the bucket.”

The durable upper structure of a bucket will host several baskets during its long service life, thus the need for optimising basket replacement, Cat said. Also, the two-piece bucket is lighter than conventional buckets, yet features high wear resistance, according to the company.

“The basket is a single piece of structural steel with no liner or wear plates, and the floor and sideplate thickness are optimised for bucket size and anticipated wear rate,” Cat said. “The basket is retrofittable onto legacy buckets used in compatible digging conditions.”

The two-piece bucket enhances both safety and serviceability, according to the company.

Replacing just the basket requires less gouging, welding, and grinding than buckets protected with wear plates, while the single-piece basket design reduces potential hazards caused by stored energy.

“After the initial design is completed for the application, replaceable baskets can be ordered in advance and stocked on site,” Cat said.