New Shovel Front Design Reduces Maintenance Intervals

Bucyrus International, which recently introduced its HydraCrowd technology for electric rope shovels, claims that by eliminating the time required for conventional rope-crowd change intervals, HydraCrowd can add three days of additional production annually, amounting to a revenue gain that could reach $5 million/year in certain minerals. HydraCrowd’s design employs a hydraulic cylinder inside a tubular dipper handle, eliminating crowd retract ropes or rack and pinion gearing. Major maintenance for the system is required only at 24-month intervals, according to the company, representing a significant improvement over maintenance requirements for conventional crowd systems. The system is controlled with Bucyrus IGBT technology, with full diagnostic and troubleshooting capabilities. Bucyrus HydraCrowd is available on new Bucyrus 495 shovels and as a retrofit on existing machines.

www.bucyrus.com

As featured in Womp 09 Vol 01 - www.womp-int.com