Coal Age

MAY 2017

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May 2017 www.coalage.com 27 moving overburden continued power are optimized during a portion of the dig cycle. The new dragline control system was based on the FREEDOM platform previously deployed on shovels for several years now. The two systems are very simi- lar, and FLANDERS is currently installing Freedom systems on two draglines, ex- plained Mike Casson, global business de- velopment, surface mining, FLANDERS. "We utilized some of the shovel tech- nology such as OBP, for adaptive control, and are working on additional operator assist functions to be applied to drag- lines," Casson said. The system works for both AC and DC machines. "Regardless of the power con- version, the control system remains very similar and it retains the same look and feel as the shovel system," Casson said. "There is a lot of commonality be- tween the platforms." On the shovels, FLANDERS has reported seeing as much as 24% performance improvement with the FREEDOM platform and OBP. "Obvi- ously, we have no data for draglines yet," Casson said. "We are working to- ward a similar response we received from the shovels." How would the control system en- hance a dragline's performance? Cas- son said mine operators must look at the machine in a holistic way as far as total cost of ownership (TCO). "There are advantages to enhanced perfor- mance, but we are also looking at the machine mechanically, watching strain gauges attached to the boom, the gan- try and other structures," Casson said. "Through the adaptive control, we can generate more rope speed and more torque in portions of the dig cycle, and do it in a way that doesn't stress the ma- chine mechanically, so maintenance costs are reduced as well." The FREEDOM system for drag- lines generates reports on mechan- ical systems and production. It also allows remotes access for engineers to fine tune or troubleshoot issues on the dragline. As far as the installation process, Casson said some machines required a new power control room (PCR). Sometimes they put the new equip- ment in an existing PCR. "It varies with the mine," Casson said. "But with the shovels, we have seen pay- backs as low as 18 months. We have tools where mine operators can use their pro- duction numbers and costs per bcm to cal- culate the return. When you look at a drag- line or a shovel, any minor improvement in performance — a second removed from each cycle time — which seems small, but becomes huge at the end of the month. It saves money in the long run and TCO is greatly reduced." New Dragline Repair Link For some crews, it might be the holy grail of dragline chain maintenance: a tough, reliable repair link that is also easy and safe to install and remove. With that goal in mind, Columbia Steel Product Engineer Charlie Dreixler has been working extensively on hoist and drag chain designs since 2010. "We're on our fifth generation of mechanical repair link improvements, and a year's worth of field trials in Wyoming and North Dakota have al- ready convinced customers to place additional orders," Dreixler said. The key to this repair link's success is Columbia's EZ RigLok hammerless, me- chanical pin-locking system. The system has also proven to be a faster, safer locking mechanism in many other Columbia Steel dragline products as well, like hoist links, swivel links and clevises. The EZ RigLok repair link requires no welding or special tools, and needs just a standard ¾-in. breaker bar to install and remove. It's a user-friendly solution, but is it tough? Dreixler noted that "accelerated wear on hoist chain in the bucket rub rail area is a frequent cause of downtime — and a real test for any repair link. During a Wyoming field trial, the EZ RigLok repair link lasted for more than seven months in a rub rail position." The Surge Feeder Professionals involved in coal preparation and mineral processing know the MMD name and associate it with the sizer technology it intro- duced almost 40 years ago. More re- cently, the company has been find- ing more uses for its large sizers in the pit, and now they are launching a piece of equipment that could rev- olutionize truck-shovel mining: the Surge Feeder. MMD built a feeder for a Colom- bian coal operation that accepted loads directly from a dragline, pro- cessing the overburden and loading haul trucks. They have also installed a semimobile in-pit sizer and conveyor (IPSC) at a Chinese mine. Now they combined the experience from both of those operations to build a system that lets the shovel dig continuously. Open-pit mines constantly struggle to properly pass match trucks and shovels, David Pitchford, presi- dent, MMD Mineral Sizing Americas, explained. "There is a lot of room for improvement as far as accuracy and efficiency," Pitchford said. "Trucks Columbia Steel Product Engineer Charlie Dreixler (above) says the key to the chain repair link's success is the EZ RigLok hammerless, mechanical pin-locking system.

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