Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik GmbH, the well-known manufacturer of specialised underground mining equipment has expanded its network as effective April 1, PAUS North America Inc was founded in Walton Hills, Ohio, thereby taking over the role of former dealer NPK Mining. PAUS NA will support all existing and future US and Canadian customers and distributors on behalf of Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik. Kirk Reineke, who has worked with the Paus underground equipment line for years, is the new President of PAUS North America Inc. With a warehouse of stock equipment and spare parts available in the US, Reineke will make sure that customers will be provided with continuous supplies plus with OEM trained mechanics, “Paus NA will provide any necessary service for machines in the field.”
The company has also launched its new generation scaler in Peru – the PScale 8-T. The lastest generation it says comes with high performance, new safety features, and more comfort. “Safety, performance, sensitivity and high durability are not only words for PAUS – these are the design principles and values PAUS has used for the development of the new scaler generation. More than twenty years of experience in underground scaling, close exchanges with global mining corporations and partners are reflected in the new design of the PScale 8-T.”
The new scaler it says enables higher performance rates, more sensitive handling and a safer work environment. “One of the most important factors for the underground scaling process is the safety for the operators and to create a safe working environment for all miners. The scaling process is still one of the most dangerous works in underground mining and requires an extremely high safety standard. The ergonomic and large operator’s cabin outperforms international ROPS/FOPS requirements. And many safety features such as 3P safety belts, brake test button, hill start assistance and pressurised cabin are available.”
The cabin is equipped with safety glass window and front rock guards. The LED light concept with 35,000 lumen gives the operator an excellent visibility. A wide range of remote-control options from conventional radio remote to advanced tele-remote technologies can be easily integrated into the machine system and could be also retrofitted. “Highest performance is ensured thanks to high power output engine, 20° tiltable cabin, individual parameter adjustment of the hydraulic hammer, operation and diagnostic display which give higher reliability and quality of the scaling process. By utilising High Performance Scaling, the PScale series allows the operator to adjust and check hammer parameters directly at the face instead of adjustments on the surface.”
The scaler is available with two engine variants: EU Stage V or Tier 4 Final to perform all over the world (CE and non CE countries). “Conditions like 5.000 m.a.s.l. or temperatures up to 50°C are no longer an obstacle for a high performance operation. The 20° tiltable cabin gives the operator an excellent visibility to its working tool and ensures a fast and efficient gallery protection. Small envelope size in combination with high boom reach ensures a fast operation without frequent position changes.”
The scaling process is an unavoidable task to create a safe working environment after blasting. Therefore, loose rock must be completely identified and removed. Nevertheless, sensitivity in scaling is important to avoid damage of the natural gallery protective vault because it is inefficient and can cause additional costs. “The Paus PScale 8-T could be handled precisely with joystick steering to the point where the roof must be scaled. This reduces operation times and allows opening of the gallery faster for the subsequent processes of the mining production cycle.” Additionally, the operator is enabled to do a fast parameterisation of the machine to react to changing operating conditions.
The rough and challenging conditions in underground mining impose extreme demands on the machine which led to a strong design of cylinders with double lip sealings, a tough boom design and high performance central articulation bearings. “The PAUS PScale 8-T supports the operator with intelligent vehicle and service solutions to grant high durability and low life cycle costs. With the support of the PAUS Diagnostic Display, which indicates maintenance intervals or enables the operator to simplify troubleshooting, the already high durability of Paus machines can be increased even more.”
Paus Connect gives customers the necessary connectivity to be always informed about positioning and productivity of the machine with appropriate data. “With the generated data, efficient maintenance jobs of the service staff can be controlled exactly and necessary maintenance times can be optimised. Additionally, the data can be transferred to PAUS for error analysis and/or remote maintenance, so that necessary services can be handled in the shortest possible time.”