How do you improve mine efficiency by standardising load and haul equipment when the fleet includes a diversity of machines and accessories?
It’s a challenge that calls for a non-standard solution.
In a recent example, the Schlam team worked with a Tier 1 miner in Australia to resize existing excavator buckets and custom design new buckets for their large fleet of 400 tonne class hydraulic excavators.
In the process, they increased payload capacity by up to 7.5%, reduced the variation in sizes used and extended the life of these assets.
This all contributed directly to improved mining output, lower operating costs and machine downtime.
The Challenge: Diverse Excavator Fleets and Underloading Risk
The miner was operating two different excavator models and four different sized buckets across two sites.
Payload studies showed that over the mine life, the material densities of the ore extracted had declined resulting in less payload for the same volume.
This contributed to an increased risk of underloading.
Resizing Excavator Buckets to Increase Payload
Their objectives were to redesign the buckets used by both excavators to a larger, consistent size, standardise the lip and GET for better inventory management and minimise downtime for maintenance and overhaul cycles.
The Barracuda T2 Bucket Design
The Schlam team developed customised Barracuda T2 designs which are up to 15% lighter than a standard accessory. They feature a fully replaceable lower shell which is easily replaced to minimise maintenance and downtime without the need to replace the lip, wings or routers.
Other features of the new design include a 50mm floor which is 10mm thicker than usual and predicted to offer a minimum of 65% improvement in wear life.
The additional weight was offset by reduced weight in other areas of the bucket to optimise the package while also ensuring machine stability.
Standardisation Benefits for Mine Planning and Maintenance
Ultimately, customised buckets ensured a consistent size is used on each mine site to support more efficient mine planning.
Turning Bucket Optimisation into a Compelling Investment
The task of re-sizing buckets may be considered too hard or too expensive to be viable.
This customer showed that by combining production and total ownership cost benefits, the investment made to standardise to a Barracuda T2 design became a compelling value proposition.
