Trunnion Link Solution Extends Chain Life
The newly designed trunnion link resulted in minimal caprail and chain rail wear on the lower links.
Background
Location
Bowen Basin, QLD, Australia
Commodity
Coal
Digging Conditions
Overburden
Machine
CAT 8200
Rigging Model
Single Dump
The Challenge
A prominent coal miner in Queensland, Australia identified a problem with premature wear to their 57m³ class Hurricane hybrid dragline bucket.
The trunnion links and chains were making contact with the bucket during operation which caused wear to the caprail and lower hoist chain. The mine site was looking for a solution to remove bucket contact, reduce wear, and increase bucket and rigging life.
The Solution
CR worked with the mine site to find a solution, identifying the length of trunnion link to be the key issue. CR’s engineering team worked to extend the length of the trunnion link to ensure the chain was clear of the dragline bucket caprail. The trunnion link was manufactured and trialed on site to measure its effectiveness and ensure we’d answered our customer’s challenge.
The trunnion links and chains were making contact with the bucket during operation.
CR’s engineering team worked to extend the length of the trunnion link to ensure the chain was clear of the dragline bucket caprail.
The newly designed trunnion link resulted in minimal caprail and chain rail wear on the lower links.
The Outcome
Reduced Wear
Increased Chain Life
Reduced Maintenance
The Impact
The newly designed trunnion link resulted in minimal caprail and chain rail wear on the lower links. In addition, the trunnion link outperforms in both strength and weight and exceeds the original design performance in certain load cases.
- Hoist chains are reaching their target life & premature replacement is no longer required due to rail wear.
- With minimal wear on the bucket, significant cost savings were achieved with less repair work on allocated maintenance days and bucket refurbishment events.
Since the trial was successfully completed, this customer has purchased and installed three more extended trunnion link sets which run the full campaign of the bucket in service ranging between 18-21 million BCM.
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