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HEAVY ENGINEERING
end of the year, I imagine this could end up being
the standardised bucket design for us.”
Over that same time frame, the company could
also have launched a two-piece design for wheel
loaders, Wessels said, adding that it has already
started trialling a prototype.
Aside from two-piece developments, Wessels
says the company is busy testing out SSAB’s
Hardox ® 500 Tuf steel wear plate for use in its
future products. “We anticipate improved
properties, including increased wear life, which
will allow us to provide better solutions for our
customers,” he said.
Austin is also looking to digitalisation
developments to help its customers increase haul
truck utilisation, with Wessels confirming the
company is trialling the use of sensors on its
dump bodies for real-time wear analysis.
“We’re building software to get that real-time
data to our customers,” he said, adding that this
could improve safety and eradicate the need for
scheduled maintenance in not just manual haul
trucks but also autonomous ones.
Trials took place in March and the results are
expected to be available by the end of the year,
according to Wessels.
Austin’s new Stairway Access Tank for large
water tanks – built to improve efficiency, operator
safety and truck stability – could soon be seen on
the world’s first fully autonomous water tank, set
to be commissioned in Australia, too, according to
Wessels.
Scaling up digital developments
Australia- and US-headquartered technology and
engineering company, CR, has recently expanded
its footprint in North and South America with the
acquisition of Berkeley Forge & Tool.
CR’s product range already included cast lip
systems, dragline buckets, GETs, dragline rigging,
conveyor systems and fixed plant wear products,
in addition to real-time mining data technology
capabilities through the CR Digital Titan 3330™
Load Haul Optimisation System.
The BFT deal broadens the company’s product
offering further, according to Quintin Nienaber, GM
Product Management at CR, increasing its
technology and solutions footprint and enhancing
its supply chain capability.
“Berkeley Forge & Tool bring not only a wealth
of knowledge but the addition of the SaberEdge
Rope Shovel Lip and TLC Front End Loader Lip to
our product range,” he told IM.
The SaberEdge Rope Shovel Lip, in particular,
makes CR a “solid contender” in the electric rope
shovel market, Nienaber said, complementing its
existing suite of product lines servicing hydraulic
machines, front end wheel loaders and dragline
operations.
Reflecting on current mining market demand,
Nienaber says it is CR’s RazerEdge™ and
DecaEdge™ ranges proving particularly popular
with its customers right now.
“The RazerEdge cast lip range are the only
proven cast lip systems for under 500 t machines,
delivering maintenance and productivity
improvements for five-plus years in all types of
applications,” he said. “They are designed to
remove the weaknesses that are associated with
weld-on adapters and GET. By removing the weldon
adapters, RazerEdge lips are almost 30%
stronger, which results in maintenance savings
and increases machine availability.”
The DecaEdge cast lip range, meanwhile, builds
on the experience of the RazerEdge for Komatsu
L1850, L2350, WA1200 and CAT 994 wheel
loaders, Nienaber says.
“The system removes outdated plate lip
features by employing plane alignment, spade
angle optimisation, and optimised material
placement to deliver over 33% less downtime,” he
explained.
“Both of these products impact many parts of
the value chain for a mining operation,” he said.
“As there are no other products like them in the
world, the value RazerEdge and DecaEdge both
provide to a mine site is being recognised.”
CR, like many of its competitors, uses a range of
The SaberEdge Rope Shovel Lip, in particular,
makes CR a “solid contender” in the electric rope
shovel market, Quintin Nienaber says
different tools and technologies to test and
validate its products, but it has some advantages
over its competitors.
It can leverage not only the CR Digital Titan
3330 Load Haul Optimisation System, but also its
scale testing facility located in the technology
park of its CR Digital headquarters, in Brisbane,
Australia.
Nienaber explains: “The CR Digital Titan 3330
Load Haul Optimisation System uses highly
sophisticated instruments and patented
algorithms to accurately calculate and display
real-time bucket payload data to the machine
operator, enabling increased loading accuracy and
efficiency.
“By utilising the CR Digital Titan technology on
the scale testing equipment, we can further refine
and improve designs in the R&D stage to ensure
our customers are getting tested, proven
products.”
These capabilities, no doubt, continue to help
with the development of CR’s RE1522 cast lip
system.
The world’s only cast lip system for 100-120 t
excavators, the RE1522 was specifically designed
to improve productivity and reduce maintenance
costs through the removal of weld-on or
mechanically-attached adapters, according to
Nienaber.
“The lip itself boasts superior strength
JUNE 2020 | International Mining