Most mining facilities work 24/7 in rough environments which requires reliable equipment which can withstand such heavy workloads. Such equipment needs proper and fast maintenance and repair to keep the mine running. For example, poor tightening can cause costly issues such as falling off haul truck wheels, breakdown of motor-reducers, suspensions, etc. Low productivity during the maintenance process can also increase equipment downtime, which leads to significant losses.
To this day in the mining industry, a widespread procedure for large wheels is to use manual tightening tools, such as click wrenches with manual torque multipliers, to reach the required torque. These solutions are time-consuming and physically demanding. Another popular tool is the impact wrench, a fast and reaction-free tightening tool. However, it can also cause problems during the final tightening, as the torque depends entirely on the operator. There is a high risk of either over or under-tightening, both of which have negative consequences.
To avoid breakdowns and reduce downtime, we recommend using high-torque battery-powered nutrunners for threaded joints. These tools provide fast and precise tightenings of heavy mobile mining equipment to the specified torque levels. The electronic device stops the tool when the specified torque is reached, ensuring controlled wheel assembly and significantly reducing the likelihood of expensive equipment failure, such as motor-reducers. As a result, the proper tool implementation delivers a significant positive economic impact, since the cost of a motor-reducer ranges from 20 to 40 thousand Euros per unit, depending on the mining equipment type and model.
Atlas Copco has been a key player in the mining industry since the 1950s, producing and supplying industrial tools for the production, maintenance, and repair of different mining equipment. Initially, we started in Sweden and then expanded globally. Currently, our product portfolio of industrial tools includes high-torque smart solutions, such as the SRB HA version. This tool also can be equipped with a special extension that provides convenient access to the nuts of the rear wheels of the dump truck hub and enables the operator to work comfortably.
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