HEAVY ENGINEERING & WEAR PARTS
companies and contractors within the regions it operates . It has also already sourced several important tender opportunities for Austin to enable users in these regions to benefit from light-weight mining attachments to enhance productivity , the company said .
Striving for quality
Heavy engineering encompasses a great deal of fabrication facets that require tight control for the products to operate as intended . With the heavy gauged quenched and tempered ( Q & T ) steel plates that go into earthmoving buckets – at times reaching or exceeding 200 mm in thickness – quality weldments and prudent material selection are crucial for success , VR Steel says .
Jean Brummer , IIW Welding Engineer for VR Steel , explains : “ These cyclically-loaded structures will always reach fatigue in their joints first – that is their nature . Ergo , ensuring the best process inputs in our welding recipes is the primary step in meeting these rigorous performance demands .”
For over 10 years , Brummer has been involved in testing an inordinate number of Q & T steels , weld consumables , processes , positions and material combinations for the VR Group to provide the product range with the best highcycle fatigue performance .
Tyrone Legg , Group Engineering Manager , added : “ Consistency in material performance is crucial . Our team needs to know that finite element results can be aligned to trustworthy and repeatable material performance . If we cannot trust the raw materials , they simply do not make our approval specification standard ; it is that simple and is not negotiable .”
When demonstrating the extensive database of tests , Brummer remarked : “ It is pretty amazing to think that , despite the number of weld / material tests undertaken with laboratory destructive testing currently sitting at over 300 , VR continues to regularly add to this tally . To have world-class heavy engineering products perform metronomically in mines across the globe , we persist in perfecting our secret sauce .”
Managing Engineer for Truck Trays , Campbell Bam , concluded : “ Our philosophy – nay , product directive – remains maintenance-free for the target campaign hours . That is 15,000 , 20,000 or even as much 30,000 hours depending on the project and related deliverables . Our technical department is exceptionally fortunate to have such a broad baseline from which to draw on and guide data-based decisions in material and process selection for the different product ranges .
“ Poor inputs make for poor performance , and that is not an option for us in the great game of heavy engineering – discernible quality comes at a premium .”
GET removal
Still within the mine site arena , CR has continued to grow its presence in the specialist ground engaging tool ( GET ) sector with a new revolutionary GET removal solution .
The company , last year , launched the GRIPAssist Handling device , a safety , maintenance and productivity solution designed to efficiently and safely remove and reposition GET with a minimal requirement for human interaction . The flagship product of CR ’ s new MINEAssist product category , GRIPAssist has been developed to transform GET changeout practices around the world .
The GRIPAssist unit fits onto a tracked skid steer or similar small in-pit mobile loader and includes a hydraulic arm that grips GET products to enable safe , quick and easy maintenance change-outs .
CR Chief Executive Officer , John Barbagallo , says the range has been specifically developed to assist mining customers to safely and more efficiently change GET on their excavating machines .
“ Through listening to our customers , we have understood the need to develop a range of safety equipment for GET maintenance changeout and have worked collaboratively to bring this industry-changing product to market ,” Barbagallo said . “ At CR , we bring the core value of zero harm into everything we do . The GRIPAssist promotes safe GET changeout and is a great equipment solution to provide genuine safe fitment and removal of all GET items .”
Quintin Nienaber , General Manager of Product Management , says GET changeout times halved in initial field tests of GRIPAssist .
“ While the aim of the GRIPAssist is to remove human interactions during GET changeouts , the fact that it can enhance productivity by reducing downtime is a significant associated benefit and is a game-changer in how GET maintenance will be managed and scheduled in the future ,” he said .
Having continued to grow market share since Weir acquired the company in 2018 , Weir ESCO
The flagship product of CR ’ s new MINEAssist product category , GRIPAssist has been developed to transform ground engaging tool changeout practices around the world
has also recently launched a new GET changeout tool .
The ToolTek™ system is a boom crane mounted tool head that is remotely operated during replacement of worn Nemisys ® points and adapters . New parts are pre-staged on racks on the flatbed truck outfitted with the boom crane .
The system consists of three units : a hydraulically articulated three-axis adapter , the point tool head and the adapter tool head . The three-axis adapter is mounted on the end of the truck-mounted hydraulic crane , with easily changed tool heads to match the components to be replaced .
ToolTek ’ s advantages include enhanced worker safety , fewer workers to replace GET components , all required parts and tools are on one truck , and safer disposal of worn parts . It also locks and unlocks points and adapters during installation and removal , making this a ' no touch ' system , the company says .
The first orders for ToolTek were booked in 2020 , Weir stated recently in its annual report .
Longer-lasting lining
Weir ’ s Minerals business , meanwhile , recently registered impressive results from the installation of a lining solution at the Sentinel copper mine in Zambia .
On the lookout for a suitable liner for its mill discharge chutes that would last longer than the incumbent product , the Sentinel mine ’ s Section Engineer approached the Weir Minerals team for an alternative during one of its monthly site visits .
Sentinel had been using a competitor rubber product deemed unsuitable for the high impact and abrasive nature of the 4,500 t / h of slurry being fed to the mill discharge chute , according to the OEM .
Due to the remote area of the site , obtaining
64 International Mining | JUNE 2021