Caterpillar is introducing a heavy duty bolt-on half arrow ground engaging tool (GET) for large underground loaders working in extreme applications.

The BOHA65 joins a complement of Cat BOHA GET designed for the entire line of Cat LHDs, the company says.

BOHA65 features extended wear life. For Example, BOHA65 segments for a Cat R2900 LHD have 35% more wear material than BOHA50 for the same loader. Trials in a hard-digging block cave application in Australia indicate that BOHA65 delivers extended, productive life in proportion to the additional wear material.

The entire line of Cat BOHA GET are designed for high abrasion applications where weld-on GET experience high wear rates. “With a proven and reliable retention system, the bolt-on GET offer more wear material that is also more abrasion resistant than standard weld-on GET,” the company says. “Testing has shown an average of more than 40% additional wear life compared to weld-on options.”

The bolt-on design enables simple and fast removal and replacement. After the base edge has been welded to the bucket initially, BOHA installs with two or three bolts per tip, according to Cat.

“An average weld-on set of cutting edges can require more than 20 hours to replace, and the process entails highly skilled work,” the company says. “BOHA takes 1 to 2 hours to replace and requires no welding. Ease of GET replacement encourages changeout before the base edge is damaged and downtime and costs mount.”

For example, a gold mine in western Canada calculated that Cat BOHA, compared with its traditional weld-on system, reduced bucket and GET cost per operating hour by 39%. BOHA GET had 2.5 times the life of the weld-on GET. Additionally, machine availability increased due to a 75% reduction in time to replace wear components, Cat added.

“BOHA GET enhance productivity in additional ways,” the company says. “The segments are designed to minimise carrying weight while keeping the bucket protected and, despite additional wear material, the low-profile front edge eases pile penetration and promotes fast bucket loading.”

Built-in wear indicators provide quick, ground level inspection of wear, while corner guards protect the sides and extend the service life of the cast corners used on larger loaders.

Additionally, corner segments have extended wear material designed to match the profile of Cat heel shrouds for ultimate protection in applications where cleaning up spillage is a frequent task, Cat says.

The BOHA GET are complemented by the use of additional Cat protection systems such as heel shrouds, mechanically attached wear plate systems, and wear bars.