SURFACE AUTOMATION
capability of the truck at all times. The system is fully dynamic and reacts in real-time to changing variables, which leads to continuously optimised assignment and management.”
The rate of production is aided by consistently better operation than manned. Exchange times at the loading tool are 35 seconds or less when the loading area is configured properly.“ In good dump areas, autonomous trucks reduce total dump time by 10 seconds compared to manned operation. In crusher operations, data shows throughput improvements of more than 10 % within a week of implementing autonomous haulage.”
“ All of this has been achieved without major mining process changes, which present significant opportunities for boosting performance. Mining process changes are likely to provide step change gains in autonomous operations. Currently, demand for retrofitting trucks for autonomous operation is considerably greater than demand for purpose-built units. To meet customers’ needs, Caterpillar is designing retrofit kits for Cat and other brands of trucks. In addition to retrofit, Caterpillar is expanding the number of autonomous models available from the factory.”
Automating blasthole drills
Caterpillar is also trialling an autonomous blasthole drill this year in preparation for commercial launch of the Cat autonomous drilling system in early 2018. The autonomous system will be available for Cat and other brands of drills. The system is designed for easy integration with other brands of drills and is configured so that the manual controls remain functional and ready for use when needed.
“ The journey to autonomous drilling started with the evolution of automated functions such as Auto-Level and Auto-Drill in the early 1990s as these technologies were first introduced on large electric blasthole drills. More advanced automation technologies were later introduced on the diesel drill series MD6420B and MD6420C starting in 2008. These automated functions reduce drilling variability between operators and provide more drilling consistency.”
The Terrain for drilling technology was developed in the mid 1990s and has become a standard in the mining industry. Terrain for drilling uses satellite positioning technology to show the operator the locations of the holes to be drilled.
At the site, Terrain monitors the asset utilisation and reports on consumables usage and operator performance. Terrain helps the operator drill a precise pattern as a result of precise positioning.
The next step up in drill automation is the semi-autonomous system. The new design was launched in 2016 after building on autonomous platform technologies that were in development at Caterpillar since 2012. This system allows the
operator to position the drill at the beginning of a row of holes and then to set up the machine to drill the entire row autonomously. While the drill works autonomously, the operator can tend to other tasks or set up another drill to drill a row autonomously.
An optional arrangement includes a remote operator station that can be located near the bench or in a remote location. This allows a remote operator to position the drill at the beginning of the next row and start a new cycle again, or to manually drill holes from a remote location.
“ Going forward, the autonomous technology offerings will grow to reach a broad range of drill models. Also, the technology will evolve to feature Auto-Multi-Pass drilling, multiple row autonomy and obstacle detection.”
Semi-autonomous dozer operation
Finally, Caterpillar is developing a semiautonomous dozer system that leverages automated functions built into Cat large dozers and remote-control technologies, which are part of the proven Cat Command for dozing capability set. Caterpillar is the first to develop such a system for mining dozers and, by the end of 2017, will have 19 Cat D11T dozers working semi-autonomously in validation trials at four customer sites.
The system is currently designed for a remotely located operator to manage four
PRODUCTIVITY AT THE
CORE
When noise, dust or blasting restrictions stand in the way, the Vermeer Terrain Leveler ® surface excavation machine( SEM) is ready to help keep your operation productive. That productivity starts with a specialized team at the Vermeer Rock Lab, who tests rock and utilizes a solutions calculator to estimate machine production rates and costs of operation. With thousands of core samples tested and surface miners working in a variety of materials around the world today, Vermeer has the expertise to help you be more productive. Visit vermeer. com today to contact your local Vermeer dealer about submitting a rock sample.
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