SOUTH AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES
equipment efficiently, thus enhancing productivity.“ We evaluate our operators continually to make sure that no bad habits creep in and only best operating practices are being applied,” says Macias.
Not only have the CYBERMINE simulators been instrumental in training new operators, they have even improved the performance of experienced operators.“ They’ re definitely helping, the simulator is a tool that makes them remember good practice and helps us evaluate their proficiency,” says Macias.
Velardeña’ s drill rig and LHD operators are not allowed to manoeuvre equipment without prior training on the CYBERMINE system.“ By doing this we reduce the risk and likelihood of an accident and at the same time reinforce the training of experienced operators,” says Macias.“ We use the simulator to recreate possible failures that can occur during the operation of the equipment, reinforce the importance of operating procedures and to make sure they know exactly what to do in an emergency.”
Once the training of new operators on the simulator is complete, the trainee is assigned to an instructor or expert operator.“ This is to continue putting into practice the knowledge and skills learned via all the CYBERMINE training systems,” concludes Macias.
MechCaL has invested in cutting edge technology to enhance the productivity, efficiency and production performance of its manufacturing facility. It has procured a Yaskawa Motoman Robot to carry out several vital tasks that will enhance the already cutting edge design of MechCaL’ s advanced mining ventilation fans.
Production environment requirements in mining ventilation are very high. Not least, strict cleanroom criteria, testing facilities and staff safety present several industry specific challenges, amongst others. In addition to these challenges, in order to survive in the highly competitive mining market, companies also need to make sure that they increase their production effectiveness and minimise costs. MechCaL’ s procurement of the Robot will ensure that it stays at the forefront of meeting production requirements while translating growth in its manufacturing capacity to cost savings, reduced lead times and superior product delivery.
The Robot’ s multi-station capability will be used to trim and drill composite fan parts with greater accuracy and faster output compared to the previous manual process that was carried out using jigs.
Manufacturing large three-dimensional blade shapes and structures requires large moulds. Previously, MechCaL outsourced the manufacture of the necessary mould plugs to suppliers that used CNC routers or milling machines. Having this capability in-house, says Michael Minges, Principal Engineer and Director of Operations at MechCaL, means that overall production costs can be lowered.
Minges explains that the Robot receives its input from models generated in engineering CAD software. Using the standard G-code, all the three dimensional information is transmitted to the Robot and, depending on the cutting speeds, very high accuracies and tolerances can be achieved. This will allow MechCaL to produce accurate and high quality tooling.“ Using its accuracy and 3D operational capability will improve the trimming quality and allow us to design composite parts with much tighter tolerances while eliminating the factor of human error.”
Minges says that the procurement of the Robot was part of MechCaL’ s long term goals to achieve accelerated growth in the design, manufacture and supply of composite parts for large industrial fans to the international market through its partnership with MechCaL’ s majority shareholder, TLT Turbo.“ The Robot will take MechCaL to the next step in the delivery of innovative high-end ventilation products and it will maintain our status as a leader in the ventilation industry as a designer, manufacturer and supplier of high efficiency, high quality and cost effective products,
not only in South Africa but in the rest of the world.”
MechCaL has developed proprietary software that allows for high efficiency designs to address the much-needed green economy to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere through using less energy while providing the same performance.
Bulk mineral handling
Transfer points don’ t need to be high maintenance areas in a mine anymore. This good news comes from Mark Baller, Managing Director of Weba Chute Systems, who says the solution to reducing maintenance costs at transfer points is simple.
“ More often than not this issue is addressed by
Weba Chute Systems currently services six different continents, mainly from its South Africa manufacturing facility, with distributors and agents in most regions. The company holds ISO 9001:2008 accreditation, and quality manufacture forms an important part of the process. Significantly, today there are over 4,000 successful transfer chute and system installations throughout the world handling a variety of different materials
Cost-effective mining
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46 International Mining | JANUARY 2017