BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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Power, Passion and Performance. Scania long-haulage trucks combine the highest quality, cutting-edge technology with unique customising options. The result is outstanding operating economy, driver appeal and vehicles precisely suited to your business needs.
For more information contact your nearest Dealer. Details available on www.scania.co.za 2012 Tr2u cBULK k s HANDLING / B u sTODAY es / April Eng ines
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S c a n i a Fi n a n c e & I n s u r a n c e
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Ser vices
April 2012
Contents
Featured on the cover: Interflex International Belting and Marketing Corp Tel: (011) 363-3728 www.interflex.co.za
CMA 5
Power Transmission
33 Flexible Drive Systems 35 Scarce Gears made Locally
From the Chairman’s Desk
Cover Story 6
Largest Stockholding of Belting
Trucking
8 Smart Breed of Extra Heavies 13 Heavy-duty Hybrid Truck 15 Larger and More Powerful Trucks
Lifting
39 Market Forum
Endorsing Bodies • •
CMA (Conveyor Manufacturers Association) LEEASA (Lifting Equipment Engineering Association of South Africa)
17 Moving Large Cranes About 21 New Life for Old Cranes
•
SAIMechE (SA Institute of Mechanical Engineering)
Earthmoving
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SAIMH (SA Institute of Materials Handling)
•
also mailed to members of the RFA (Road Freight Association)
25 Tough Italian 29 Making Tyre Changing Safer
Copyright
All rights reserved. No editorial matter published in “Bulk Handling Today” may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.
Our e-mail address is bulkhandling@promech.co.za Visit our website on www.promech.co.za
The monthly circulation is 4 016
Proprietor and Publisher: PROMECH PUBLISHING Tel: (011) 781-1401, Fax: (011) 781-1403 E-mail: bulkhandling@promech.co.za www.promech.co.za Managing Editor: Susan Custers Editor: Kowie Hamman Advertising Sales: Surita Marx DTP: Zinobia Docrat and Donovan Vadivalu
Subscriptions: Please email us at accounts@promech.co.za if you wish to subscribe to “SA Mechanical Engineer” at R405,00 (incl postage and VAT) per year; R1 020,00 per year for Africa/ Overseas. Printed by: Typo Colour Printing, Tel: (011) 402-3468
BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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Course
Maintenance and repair of geared motors
MoVIDrIVe速 B - operation, start-up and troubleshooting
MoVITrAC速 B - operation, start-up and troubleshooting
DATes
7 - 8 May
9 - 11 May
14 May
4 - 5 June
6 - 8 June
11 June
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BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
CONVEYOR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION
From the Chairman’s Desk I’m delighted to report that CMA membership continues to grow and we are over the seventy member mark – a feat to be proud of! We extend a warm welcome to the companies who have joined the CMA team this year.
P
lease all make a note that the CMA General Members’ Meeting dates have reverted back to a Tuesday, and meetings will take place on 12 June and 16 October.
Simon Curry
The CMA also held its first three day Conveyor Certificate course at the end of March, and already there is only very limited space available on the May course. Please book early or contact us to discuss other dates that suit you. The first Diploma course was also held in March and the names of those candidates who passed will be on the CMA website. Another highlight is that the publication of SANS 1313 is now finalised and available on the SABS
We will convene a new working group for Idlers, for which we already have many interested parties
website. This is excellent news for us all! We will convene a new working group for Idlers, for which we already have many interested parties. Our annual dinner will be another grand affair, and is scheduled for end May – we will email details of the date and venue – please book early – as this is so popular, space will be on a first come first in basis. Other 2012 activities include our annual Industry Interact & AGM weekend away from the city buzz - we will return to the Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg from 24-26 August, following on from the positive feedback of our 2011 weekend getaway. Please diarise the date now! Until next time, Simon Curry Chairman
CMA Members List as at April 2012 All members subscribe to the CMA Code of Ethics ABB Industry Actom Afripp Projects Atlanta Manufacturing Bateman Engineered Technologies Bauer Bearings International Belt Brokers Belt Reco BMG Bonfiglioli Power Transmissions Bosworth Brelko Conveyor Products CMG Electric Motors Conveyor Watch CPI Technologies CPM Engineering CT Systems David Brown Gear Industries Delras Engineering DRA Mineral Projects DRA Mining (Pty) Ltd Dunlop Belting Products Dymot Engineering Company
ELB Engineering Services Facet Engineering Fenner Conveyor Belting (South Africa) Flexible Steel Lacing SA FLSmidth Roymec Hägglunds Drives South Africa Hansen Transmissions SA Hatch Africa Horne Hydraulics Hosch - Fördertechnik (SA) International Belting & Marketing Iptron Technology Joy Global (South Africa) Lesa Mining Equipment and Conveyor Belt Lorbrand M & J Engineering Martin Engineering Melco Conveyor Equipment Moret Mining MS Conveyor Pulleys SA Nepean Conveyors OE Bearings Oriental Rubber Industries SA
Osborn Engineered Products PH Projects Holdings Protea Conveyors Read Swatman & Voigt Rema Tip Top South Africa Renold Crofts RSV ENCO Consulting Rula Bulk Materials Handling Sandvik Materials Handling SA Schaeffler South Africa SENET SET Agencies SEW Eurodrive Shaft Engineering Shaw Almex Africa SKF South Africa ThyssenKrupp Materials Handling Timken South Africa (Pty) Ltd Transmission Components Transvaal Rubber Company Unitek Engineers Veyance Technologies Africa Voith Turbo Zest Electric Motors
BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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COVER STORY
Largest Stockholding of Belting International Belting & Marketing Corp Ltd (IBM) was established in 1992 in Durban by Will Mac Gibbon to further the importation of conveyor belting into South Africa. He already had ten years experience importing from Norway, Italy, Germany, Taiwan and Korea. Until 1994, a permit system was in place, which limited the imports of conveyor belting so as to protect the local producers, ie, Goodyear, Dunlop, Sarmcol and Fenner. The company started importing “slab” stock in various widths so as to accommodate a gap in the “ex-stock” market which was not catered for by local suppliers.
I
n 1992, the company was importing mostly from Korea until late 1997, when the Korean factory could not meet the demand from IBM and it was decided to embark on a visit to China to search for a suitable producer. At this time, the brand name of “Interflex” was registered as a trademark as it was felt that this would identify the brand as a “local” supplier with production facilities in China with all the latest technology and equipment with technical back-up and service.
Are randomly checked at the testing facility IBM entered into a supply agreement with Tonxiang Double Arrow Company (D.A.) in 1998 whereby D.A. would supply all conveyor belt made under licence to IBM under the brand name of Interflex. This agreement is still in place and it is a well-known fact that they make under licence to Bando (Japan) which is one of the oldest conveyor belting companies worldwide. In 2009, Anglo One, embarked on a worldwide tender to supply their needs on a global basis. Forty companies worldwide were invited
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April 2012
COVER STORY
to tender with IBM being part of the local contingent. After various parameters were discussed, the field was eventually narrowed down to six. A technical evaluation was done on all these production facilities to establish the frontrunners going into the final two for adjudication. Interflex was one of the two, with another local producer, confirming the confidence displayed of quality by a Chinese producer as opposed to the two remaining local producers. As time progressed D.A went on to be one of China’s biggest producers, supplying some 250 000 metres per month into their local domestic market and exports. This led to an increase in lead times due to factory congestionand limited type of supply of conveyor belting The company then decided to search for other factories that could provide the belt-types(PVC/PVG),light specs, chevron, heat resistant, which D.A. were not too good at.
Forged agreements
In 2000, Novacoal AG bought a controlling interest in IBM and paved the way for much financial growth due to international funding. The company then forged supply agreements with other factories to sustain the demand for the ever-increasing conveyor belt market in Africa. The company has grown exponentially over the past few years with new innovations. In 1999, it established a subsidiary company, Global Splicing Technology, to concentrate on the ‘ex-stock” market which IBM was familiar with, but had lost focus due to securing business from end-users over this period. Global Splicing (GS) has established itself as the number one supplier of “ex-stock” conveyor and, is the biggest supplier and buyer of used belting due to the large amount of stockholding. GS is also a large supplier of pulley lagging and vulcanising presses for the conveyor belt industry. It prides itself on being only one of two companies worldwide that can process used steel-cord conveyor belting within the requirements of ISO 14000. State-of-the-arts litting facilities and a mobile belt roll-up machine are part of this “onestop shop“offered by the Interflex Group.
Technical Capabilities
IBM has just completed a modern testing facility for conveyor belting located at their premises in Nuffield, Springs. The equipment has been imported from overseas encompassing the latest technology and calibration methods to facilitate the accurate testing of product to ensure that the quality is to the required standards of SANS 1173, 1366 and 971.
All belts are marked with unique indent numbers to identify the production history and test results according to ISO 9000 certification. Conveyor belts arriving per container are randomly checked at the testing facility and some belts are sent for third- party evaluation, however if required, this can be specified if the need arises. IBM’s technical team is equipped to survey, troubleshoot and recommend various belt specifications to suit the application at hand. Their sophisticated conveyor programme also checks drives, gearboxes and ancillary equipment required for smooth operation.GS has recently introduced on-site splicing teams (fabric/steel-cord and PVC) and has over thirty years experience in this field.
Is the biggest supplier and buyer of used belting SANS
IBM currently has the SANS mark of quality approval for the following types of belts: SANS1173-2006 (Textile Conveyor Belt )SANS 1366-2006 (SteelCord Conveyor Belt) SANS 971-2003 (Fire-Reistant Conveyor Belting) There are four production facilities in China which have been audited over the past two years to facilitate that all Interflex conveyor belting carries the SANS mark.
Supply and service
The Interflex Group prides itself as being the largest stockholder in the southern hemisphere, with widths ranging from 450mm to 2100mm wide ,and from Class 200/2ply to Class 2000/4 ply, which proves their commitment to supply and service. The company’s phenomenal growth is testament to their vision which has always been one of quality, service and pricing. With their newly introduced on-site splicing facilities, the all-round service of conveyor belting is set to improve. Clients include the likes of Goldfields, Rio Tinto, Aquarius, Lonmin, Illovo, Anglo just to name a few of the international mining companies who endorse Interflex as a brand name in conveyor belting. Grant Harris, International Belting and Marketing Corp., Tel: (011) 363-3728, Email: granth@interflex.co.za, www. interflex.co.za
BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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TRUCKING
Smart Breed of Extra Heavies
UD Trucks’ new generation Quon trucks have found the economical sweet-spot for long haulers in South Africa with higher output engines that deliver better fuel consumption and less emissions.
W
ith the recent launch of the new Quons at a glittering event at Sun City it was apparent that UD Southern Africa has a new sense of confidence in its vehicles and will be taking the fight for market share in the extra heavy commercial vehicle (EHCV) segment
to its rivals – this time with a bigger, better and stronger opponent than ever before. UD Trucks Southern Africa CEO, Johan Richards announced that the new vehicles are expected to take the company’s market share from just below 10% to 12% and in time says they are aiming for 15% of the local market. He acknowledged however that they would have to fight for each inch gained as the segment is currently growing at a rate of over 30% per annum and all the major truck manufacturers are eager to increase their presence in this segment.
More variants
“We have a bigger pool of variants to suit different applications with the flagship 490 6x4 truck tractor leading the fleet. There are another 14 model derivatives intended for South Africa and these will be introduced to the local market from March to August 2012,” Johan says.
Bigger, better and stronger opponent than ever before The local company is also responsible for UD Trucks’ exports into 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and both right and left hand drive variants will be introduced into the region according to each territory’s market requirements. All new Quon trucks sold from March 2012 will also be accompanied by UD Trucks’ new Managed Maintenance initiative – an industry first in South Africa. Through Managed Maintenance, UD Trucks provides the company’s complete management and overseeing of all repairs and service costs on behalf of its customers.
Model Line-Up
The new UD Trucks Quon range of extra heavy vehicles offers a variety of manual and automatic transmission options that will suit UD Trucks’ customers’ unique business requirements. Johan continues that the models launched locally are the culmination of extensive customer feedback and local engineering trials. Focus areas included driveability, the transmission systems and overall economy. “After thousands of kilometres of testing, we believe the new Quon range also adheres to stringent local requirements.”
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TRUCKING
Model Code
Model Description
Transmission
Gvm / Gcm
Config.
Application
4X2 Truck Tractor E01
GK17 370 - TT
Manual 9-Speed
17200 / 41000
4X2 TT
3-Axle Semi Trailer (Local Distr)
E02
GK17 410 - TT AS HR
AMT
17200 / 45000
4X2 TT
3-Axle Semi Trailer (Long Haul)
Construction E03
CW26 370 - DT
Manual 7-Speed
30000 / 36000
6X4 Dump
10,0M³ Rigid Tipper
T28
UD330WM
Manual 7-Speed
26000 / 36000
6X4 Mixer
6,0M³ Cement Mixer
Freight Carrier T27
UD330WF
Manual 7-Speed
26000 / 36000
6X4 FC
Solo Freight Carrier
E04
CW26 -370 - FC
Manual 7-Speed
26000 / 45000
6X4 FC
Solo Or 2-Axle Drawbar
E05
CW26 490 - FC
AMT
26000 / 65000
6X4 FC
3&4-Axle Drawbar
E06
CW26 490 - FC
Manual 14-Speed
26000 / 65000
6X4 FC
3&4-Axle Drawbar (Severe Off-Road)
AMT
26000 / 56000
6X4 TT
3-Axle Semi Trailer/Limited Link Application
6X4 Truck Tractor E08
GW26 410 - TT
E09
GW26 410 - TT HR
AMT
26000 / 56000
6X4 TT
3-Axle Semi Trailer/Limited Link Application
E10
GW26 490 - TT
Manual 14-Speed
26000 / 65000
6X4 TT
Link Application (Severe Off-Road)
E11
GW26 490 - TT
AMT
26000 / 65000
6X4 TT
Link Application - On/Off Road
E12
GW26 490 - TT HR
Manual 14-Speed
26000 / 65000
6X4 TT
Link Application - Long Dist
E13
GW26 490 - TT HR
AMT
26000 / 65000
6X4 TT
Link Application - Long Dist
E14
GW26 490 - TT AS HR AMT
26000 / 65000
6X4 TT
Link Application - Long Dist
All the models in the range have been fitted with the GH13 series a 13-litre in-line 6-cylinder turbointercooled engine. This is a EURO3 engine that offers a more environmentally friendly option as it decreases an operators’ carbon footprint.
holding purposes, resulting in more cost savings for customers. The unit also boasts a flat torque curve which means less engine fatigue, particularly during uphill hauls.
More efficient
According to Johan, the new engine is a more efficient unit and as there is only one engine range in the series, fewer parts are required for stock-
BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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Africa’s largest transport show 25 - 29 June 2012 Johannesburg, South Africa Join us at Africa Rail – a unique conference designed to assist rail operators, end users, investors and government to optimise their investment into rail infrastructure. Learn from leaders in the rail sector including: Mr. Malusi Gigaba, Minister, Ministry of Public Enterprises, South Africa Brian Molefe, Group CEO, Transnet, South Africa Hon. Jeremy Cronin, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Transport, South Africa
Register now to secure your place.
Scan the above QR pattern with the camera on your smartphone to register at the special offer price. Media Partner:
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BULK HANDLING TODAY
2012 sponsors
www.terrapinn.com/africarail
April 2012
TRUCKING
Engine oil is filtrated by a two-piece fullflow long filter and a one-piece bypass long filter, which subsequently extends the service intervals of the vehicles to 30 000km for long-haul and 20 000km for medium-haul applications.
Transmissions
A selection of manual and automatic transmissions has been employed across the range to suit a range of applications. There are three manual transmissions in 7-speed, 9-speed and 14-speed variants, while the star of the show is undoubtedly the automatic gearbox variants that are specifically developed to improve safety, overall economy and to offer the operators easy driving capabilities. The two-pedal or clutchless operation of the 12-speed Escot gearshift mechanism is seamless and contributes to overall economy of the vehicles. The automatic derivatives have innovative features like Easy-Hill-Start, sequential shift, air-shift navigation, as well as an energy management feature that improves fuel economy in the top gear. Eco roll mode, for instance, engages the neutral position in order not to travel against engine compressions.
multi-functional display inside the cabin from which drivers can then select the appropriate mode. All automatic transmissions are only scheduled for their first oil change at 390 000km, with oil change intervals set at every 390 000km thereafter. UD Trucks, Tel: (012) 564-9500, Email: info.support@ udtrucks.co.za, www.udtrucks.co.za
All these options are conveniently shown on a BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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Africa’s largest transport show 25 - 29 June 2012 Johannesburg, South Africa Now in its 9th year, Africa Ports and Harbours Show is a unique conference designed to assist port operators to attract investment and obtain valuable insight into financing mechanisms that are driving investment. Learn from leaders in the ports sector including: Tsietsi Mokhele, CEO, SAMSA, South Africa Hon Jeremy Cronin, Deputy Minister, Department of Transport South Africa Karl Socikwa, CEO, Transnet Port Terminals, South Africa
Register now to secure your place.
Scan the above QR pattern with the camera on your smartphone to register at the special offer price. Media Partner:
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BULK HANDLING TODAY
2012 sponsors
www.terrapinn.com/ports
April 2012
TRUCKING
Heavy-duty Hybrid Truck Commercial vehicle manufacturer Fuso, a member of the Daimler group, has introduced a heavy-duty hybrid truck in Japan. First tests of the Super Great HEV have demonstrated significant fuel efficiency improvements over conventional diesel-only vehicles.
T
he newly-developed hybrid heavy-duty truck is based on the technology of the Canter Eco Hybrid, around 1 200 units of which have been sold since it was introduced in 2006 and which has proved itself in numerous applications worldwide. The Fuso Super Great HEV features a conventional diesel engine; electric motor/ generator; lithium(Li)-ion battery; and related control software. It utilises a parallel hybrid system. That means power to drive the vehicle comes from the vehicle’s electric motor, the diesel engine or both.
Hybridisation can indeed benefit heavy-duty trucks in typical long-haul operations Fuel efficiency and emissions reduction are achieved by using them singly or in combination with each
other according to driving conditions. When slowing down or braking, the electric motor functions as a generator to brake the vehicle. The generator converts brake energy into electric energy and returns it to the lithium-ion battery.
Very encouraging
The first tests performed under real-life conditions show an impressive increase in fuel efficiency by as much as ten percent versus conventional dieselonly powered vehicles. Testing was conducted on motorways in Japan, in representative conditions. “Evaluation so far shows that hybridisation can indeed benefit heavy-duty trucks in typical longhaul operations,” says Gustav Tuschen, Fuso’s Vice President of Product Engineering. “The conventional thinking is that hybrids best fit trucks like the Canter Eco Hybrid involved in short-radius distri-
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April 2012
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TRUCKING
bution operations, since such operations involve many stop-and-go situations. Braking energy can be continuously recaptured this way. But heavyduty highway trucks in long-haul operation clearly benefit as well.�
Positive results
Long-haul trucks recover and store energy as they move up and down hills. In addition, they tend to run much longer distances than light commercials; therefore, the benefits of hybrids accumulate. The hybrid system of the Fuso Super Great is optimised so it can capture energy even when the truck is going down very slight grades. The parallel hybrid system ensures that energy loss is minimised. Based on the positive test results, Fuso is now moving ahead with development of heavy-duty hybrid trucks. The key challenge now is to ensure significant overall lifecycle cost benefits for the Super Great HEV. For trucks are capital goods and will prevail in the market especially when their purchase pays off for entrepreneurs. One focus of work is to minimise the weight of the hybrid system so the customer has the highest possible payload at his disposal. Shirle Greig, Tel: (012) 677-1904, Fax: (012) 677-1682, Email: shirle.greig@daimler.com, www.daimler.com
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April 2012
TRUCKING
Larger and More Powerful Trucks How can climate targets be met as transport needs increase? Although it may initially seem strange, larger and more powerful trucks may be one of the answers.
T
he basic principle is simple: with larger and more powerful trucks, more freight can be carried by fewer vehicles, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and climate impact in relation to the transport work being undertaken.
riod, fuel consumption and climate impact have dropped by an average of about 40 percent, while emissions of nitrogen oxides and particles have been cut by more than 90 percent,” says Hayder Wokil, product manager at Volvo Trucks.
The fact is that demands on more efficient transport have for many decades driven development in the direction of increasingly powerful trucks. In the mid-1970s a power output of 350 hp was regarded as high. Today you would need to add another 100 hp to reach the average for a truck on long-haul assignments. For operations in very hilly terrain and in high-altitude conditions, really high performance is needed to be able to quickly transport food and other fresh goods or to haul heavy loads such as wind-power stations, timber, ore or machinery. For this sort of demanding operation, there are trucks like the Volvo FH16 with power outputs of up to 750 hp.
But more still remains to be done. Volvo Trucks works actively and continuously to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from its trucks. And if more countries in Europe decided to follow Sweden’s and Finland’s example and allowed truck rigs of up to 25.25 metres in length, one in every three semi-trailers on Europe’s roads would no longer be needed – at least in theory. In actual fact, what is probably more likely is that it will be easier to meet expanding transport needs without adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Lower climate impact
“What is remarkable is that during the same pe-
“Longer and more powerful trucks are of course not the only solution to the transport sector’s climate problems, but they are one of many answers. Here at Volvo Trucks we see it as our mission to pursue development and to make truck transport’s environmental footprint as small as possible. Trends thus far show that a smaller climate impact and more efficient transport really do go hand in hand,” Hayder concludes. Veronica Nyblom, Email veronica.nyblom@ volvo.com Here’s how much more powerful trucks have become
In September 2011, in conjunction with the upcoming 25th anniversary of the D16 engine, Volvo launched the FH16 750. The Volvo FH16 with 750 hp is a truck suitable for demanding operations such as transport of timber, windpower stations or heavy machinery.
1970-1975
330 hp
1975-1980
375 hp
1980-1985
400 hp
1985-1990
450-475 hp
1990-1995
500-525 hp
1996-2006
550-660 hp
2009-2011
700-750 hp
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April 2012
LIFTING
Moving Large Cranes About Large mobile cranes are impressive machines majestically reaching into the sky to dwarf surrounding people and structures while placing huge thousand tonne machinery into place with as much ease as a puppet on a string.
E
ver wondered how these gentle giants of the lifting industry get to site in the first place? In spite of being ‘mobile’, it’s certainly not driven there. “Bulk Handling Today” speaks to Lance Strachan, managing director of Sarens South Africa, a company who recently brought a 1250-tonne crawler crane to South Africa to carry out special lifting work for the construction of the new power stations being built.
The logistics
“The whole operation was a logistics process of note involving about one hundred special abnormal-load trucks because we also brought in an 800-tonne crane on the same ship,” says Lance. “These cranes were sourced from our international fleet as there weren’t any available in South Africa at the time. We leased a vessel exclusively for shipping the two cranes, packed the machines, supervised the stevedoring at both ends, managed the packing onto trucks, transported to site within a week after landing in Durban harbour and then re-assembled on site.
We have special rigger teams in the company who not only have to abide by the local road ordinances in terms of weight distribution on each truck “To execute such an operation we have special rigger teams in the company who not only have to abide by the local road ordinances in terms of weight distribution on each truck, but they have to ensure that the right sections and parts of each crane set off to the correct destination as the two cranes weren’t destined for the same site,” elaborates Lance. “We had an additional challenge in that these cranes are designed to comply with European and not necessarily the South African transport legislation.”
Challenges
We’re here to stay, and we’re here to play
The masses allowed on standard abnormal-load trucks locally are not as flexible as in Europe. “In spite of the crane being modular and arriving here in pieces, we still had to break down some of the components of the crane even more,” Lance explains. “Fortunately, the cranes are designed to be stripped further, but this obviously means more time-consuming re-assembly work on site. Thus it becomes a matter of weighing up a number of BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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LIFTING
different options against each other in terms of the type of transport we use to move the crane to site. “For example, stripping the crane down so that we can get everything on normal abnormal low-bed trucks and spending a bit more time on reassembly far outweighs the option of utilising specialised multi-axle vehicles which require special permits and take much longer on the road because they have to follow special routes,” explains Lance. “The total weight of the two cranes is way over a thousand tonnes, but the biggest single piece after the breakdown was around 80 tonnes.”
Reassembly
As these cranes are designed to be taken apart and reassembled over and over again, there is no need to specially mark parts. “We just had to make sure that parts from one crane didn’t land up with the batch of the other crane,” says Lance. Each crane has a full set of manuals to guide reassembly on site in a number of different configurations depending on its application. The base of the machine is pretty standard, but various configurations can then be put onto the base for a number of different duties the crane can perform. The experienced riggers therefore simply comply with the instructions in the manual to assemble different boom configurations by fitting the parts in a logical serial number sequence to achieve a specific configuration. Naturally, this is not the type of crane which is reconfigured or moved about every second week at the whim of the contractor. “Very rarely will this size crane go onto a site to do one or two lifts and then be taken away,” says Lance. “Generally they go onto a project site for at least 8 to 24 months. The cost of moving it is uneconomical for just one or two lifts, unless nothing else will do the job. In
A bird’s-eye view of a crane in action
this case, costs can be amortised as, with careful planning, it can be utilised to undertake all other lifting tasks on the site.”
Turnkey solution
With 101 entities in 51 countries the Sarens Group is firmly established as an international lifting company as per their motto: ‘Nothing too heavy, nothing too high’. “In the past Sarens in South Africa wasn’t known as much more than a crane hire company,” remarks Lance in conclusion. “However, over the past eighteen months we’ve established, to the dismay of some of the players in the industry, our own niche in the local market. We’re here to stay and we’re here to play, offering clients everything from the hire of a single crane to a full turnkey solution.” Sarens South Africa, Tel: (011) 861-3800, Email: info@sarenssa.co.za
BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
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A TRUSTED INDUSTRY LEADER For 90 years, SCAW, a South African industry leader, has partnered with leading mining houses to ensure safety critical
standards
and
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The Scaw Metals Group is a South African company serving international markets.
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BULK HANDLING TODAY
April 2012
LIFTING
New Life for Old Cranes A new concept in the wheel block design for girder crane travel motion is set to make the upgrading and repair of girder cranes a much less cumbersome exercise than in the past. It’s a bolt-on solution which replaces the old type fixed drive system and once fitted, can easily be removed to be replaced with a standby unit on hand.
B
ulk Handling Today” speaks to Arno Dahms, managing director of Akhanani Electromechanical engineering in Alrode, the distributors and service agents of lifting equipment made by French company, Verlinde. “Until
You simply cut off the whole old drive unit, fit a plate and bolt, or even weld on, the new unit to get the upgraded crane back into operation within the minimum downtime Arno Dahms of Akhanani
now it’s been a rigmarole to replace the drive unit on cranes as you had to take apart the unit to get to the bearings, couplings, wheels and pinions,” he explains. “In most cases the shafts in the unit would have rusted, so you’d have to do much cutting off to remove bearings, a tedious task which seriously impacts on the crane’s operational time.
Age-old problem
A large crane being installed
“But, hey presto! our new wheel block unit is a solution to an age-old problem especially as we carry a full range of complete wheel block units for all size cranes,” Arno adds. “You simply cut off the whole old drive unit, fit a plate and bolt, or even weld on, the new unit to get the upgraded crane back into operation within the minimum downtime,” Arno adds. “These wheel blocks are easily configured to fit most crane drive mountings which allows the crane owner to standardise wheel blocks for all the different makes of cranes he may have on a plant.” It’s a versatile product which, while suitable for all types of overhead cranes, can also be used in various other applications including transfer cars and trolleys; in fact, anything which is driven by a motor through wheels. Says Arno, “Very often you find that despite the crane being old, it is structurally still sound, but the drive unit tends to fail regularly because of its age. There’s not much you can do to upgrade such a crane apart from replacing the entire crane with a new one. Now you can upgrade the crane to as good as new.”
Other benefits Special Jib cranes designed and built by Akhanani
There are many long term benefits as well. “Let’s BULK HANDLING TODAY
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LIFTING
say a plant has 40 cranes, you’d probably find that more than half of them are likely to have been built on the same principle, making standardisation with our new wheel block unit a highly economical option,” argues Arno. “Firstly the upgrading can now be done systematically from units in stock and when something goes wrong with a unit, it can be replaced from stock with the least interruption in production time. It’s a matter of loosening six bolts, replacing the unit and you’re up and running in no time.” Akhanani is an official distributor and direct importer from Verlinde France, and spare parts partner for the German crane manufacturer Stahl Crane Systems. In terms of ‘below hook’ equipment they are the official distributors of the full range of Crosby lifting and rigging equipment. “We have a fabrication section, a field service & rigging division, an engineering & projects division and also a mining supplies and light products division,” explains Arno. “This allows us to undertake turnkey lifting projects for all industries, from underground cranes, jib-cranes to girder and large portal cranes.
5 Ton Tandem lift pipe slew crane and device
Special designs
“All design work is carried out in-house on special software supported by technical assistance from the French when we need it,” says Arno. “Apart from normal girder crane design and manufacture we regularly deal with special lifting requirements ranging from underground lifting systems to custombuilt jib cranes for specific purposes. “For example, we’ve just received an order for 72 jib cranes for a company upgrading their heavy machinery service centres in various locations around Africa,” says Arno. “For a mine in North Africa we’re currently building a 65/15 ton portal crane with a fifteen metre lift which will replace the tipper skips on the large haul trucks used on mines. We manufacture the whole crane and ship it to site where we supervise the installation.”
Service teams
Arno has service teams available in Gauteng, North West and Limpopo on 24 Hr standby who do installations, LMI load testing, repairs and carry out maintenance contracts, a growing tendency among large concerns. “Our technicians are trained by the brand companies we represent, but generally we service and test all makes of cranes, especially under maintenance contracts with the bigger corporate companies,” Arno elaborates. “These companies now realise the long-term value of dealing with reputable service providers, not only in terms of safety, but also as far as traceability of parts and service record keeping is concerned. However, we’re still competing against very cheap lifting companies and products, especially below the hook equipment, coming into the market from the East because there are many who still buy lifting equipment purely on price.”
The new concept of wheel blocks
Apart from normal girder crane design and manufacture we regularly deal with special lifting requirements ranging from underground lifting systems to custom-built jib cranes In Arno’s experience one of the biggest mistakes people make in terms of cranes is not to think long term. “More often than not we come across crane failure due to cranes working way beyond the cycle for which they were designed originally,” he says in conclusion. “The business quickly expands, production increases, but the crane remains the same yet is expected to work harder and to full capacity all the time, putting unnecessary strain on the crane. Considering long term growth and investing in a bigger crane from the start will save many the pain of crane failures or the expense of upgrading to a higher capacity before long.” Arno Dahms, Akhanani Electromechanical Engineering, Tel: (011) 900-1085, Email: sales@akhanani.co.za, www.akhanani.co.za/www.akhanani.edx.co.za
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Leave no stone uncrushed
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EARTHMOVING
Tough Italian Off-road dump trucks are a tough breed built with the sole-purpose in mind to move materials reliably and effectively from a collection to a drop off point.
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n the case of the Astra RD rigid dumptruck from HPE Africa its purpose is to move materials over longer distances on maintained dirt roads. The beauty of the design is that it takes its cues from heavy off-road dump trucks as well as its ADT brethren to facilitate easy loading with its low wide load body. The rigid backbone and standard transmission however gives it the long legs needed to haul over longer distances.
In a league of its own in South Africa as a purpose-built off-roader For this reason the Astra RD is in a league of its own in South Africa as a purpose-built off-roader that does not owe its lineage to on-highway relatives. Everything about the truck is centred on the job at hand from its short, wide stance with high ground clearance to its simple, strong construction and high-visibility driver cab allowing all-round views of the underfoot condition in front of and on the side of the truck.
Neil Sauls, general manager of HPE
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EARTHMOVING
Fit for quarries
“It is ideally suited to quarry operations where its wide load body means it can be loaded easily with heavy excavators or front end loaders. By comparison, normal tippers and even off-road tipper trucks’ bodies are narrow and where heavy equipment is used, can slow the loading process. “The shallow design minimises carry-back of materials as deep compaction at the front end is minimised. The big wheels provide stability in uneven underfoot conditions and while it requires firm ground to operate effectively, it is capable of traversing high berms at off-loading points as a result of the big wheels and tip height. “All-in-all the trucks complement our range of Hyundai earthmoving machines in certain operating parameters. With the launch of our heavy excavators in recent years, specially for mining and quarrying operations, it makes sense that we introduce trucks that can be used to work with them,” says Neil Sauls, general manager of HPE. The company is also in the process of supplying two 40 tonnes ADT into the local market following successful operations at mining sites in South Africa and north of our borders.
Bigger range
“The inclusion of ADTs complements our line-up
nicely. We will slowly introduce them to the market at first to ensure we have the correct level of service and parts holdings required to properly support them in the field,” Neil says. He concludes that the company has a nationwide service infrastructure to support its range of Hyundai earthmoving machines, Astra Trucks, MB crushers, Soosan demolition hammers and Cummins Diesel engines and are in the process of evaluating requirements to support the ADT range. High Power Equipment Africa, Kirsty Denholm, Tel: (011) 397 4670, (011) 397 4683, Email: kirsty@ hpeafrica.co.za, Web: www.hpeafrica.co.za Purpose built heavy dumptruck chassis
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HYDRAULIC HAMMERS
EARTHMOVING
Making Tyre Changing Safer Fitting the big tyres on mining dump trucks is not a task performed by just any technician who happens to be in the workshop, the tyre fitter has to be trained to do the job.
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f not, the chances of a fatality occurring when the tyre explodes during operations due to pyrolysis or because it’s not been fitted correctly increases dramatically, not to mention the possibility of injuring an untrained person who’s trying to change or do maintenance tests on the tyre during routine inspections.
Management system
Warren Miller of Trentyre
To tackle this issue, Trentyre has developed a QSMA (Quality Safety Management Assurance) software system to manage their mining operations in particular. “Bulk Handling Today” speaks to Warren
Miller, head of health and safety at Trentyre in Germiston near Johannesburg. “We have on-site tyre management crews on mining operations throughout Africa,” he says. “They have been using a TMS (Tyre Management System) software system for many years.
Work done is entered directly or via the technician’s cell phone and the historical record of that particular vehicle is updated
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EARTHMOVING
“However this system did not address the safety aspects of tyre management,” explains Warren.
Usually when an accident occurs, the investigation to find the cause requires a full record of who last worked on the tyre, his training and what work was carried out “Usually when an accident occurs, the investigation to find the cause requires a full record of who last worked on the tyre, his training and what work was carried out. So we set out to buy software incorporating health and safety control features. A commercial health and safety package from the USA looked good but it lacked the specific features we were after,” Warren says. “However, it was a good base to work from, so we fine tuned it to our requirements, and integrated it with our existing TMS system.
Daily basis
“Now we have a comprehensive central management system linked to each on-site operation which not only captures the data of all work done on every single individual tyre, but also helps the service manager on site to ensure that the work has been carried out by a person trained and deemed competent specifically for the job,” adds Warren. The new system has already been implemented at two iron ore mines which represent two of Trentyre’s biggest mining operations
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“Our new system even captures and downloads tyre performance measurement data sent from cellphones to a central database on a daily basis. All this information is available to anyone with access to the network regardless of where they are. Here in Johannesburg we can log into the system to trace the history of each tyre on every vehicle on a mine in Khatu, for instance.”
On site management
In terms of management on site, the service manager has the full assurance that he’s assigning a technician to do a job he’s qualified to do. “The moment the manager opens a tyre job card for one of the mine’s vehicles on our system and specifies what needs to be done, the system will automatically present him with a list of technicians on that site who are qualified to perform this particular task,” explains Warren. “Once the job’s completed, whether it was done in the workshop or in situ, the specifics of the work done is entered directly or via the technician’s cell phone and the historical record of that particular vehicle is updated.”
Full history
One of the main advantages of the QSMA system is that it enables much more effective management of non-conformances and incidents such as tyre
EARTHMOVING
blow-outs or accidents. Warren elaborates, “Because all the information is linked to a single job card of each individual vehicle, supervisors are able to identify the root cause of tyre-related problems in order to take corrective action.”
One of the main advantages of the QSMA system is that it enables much more effective management of non-conformances and incidents such as tyre blow-outs or accidents The new system has already been implemented at two iron Safety of people is paramount in our book, there is no compromise and this system is another step ore mines which represent two closer to achieving just that of Trentyre’s biggest mining opsafety of people is paramount in our book, there erations but their long-term aim is to incorporate it across the board. Warren says is no compromise and this system is another step in conclusion, “Naturally, this solution will also be closer to achieving just that.” made available to the subcontractors who render Warren Miller, Trentyre, Tel: (011) 345-6835, services to some of the mines. As for any mine, the Email: warren_miller@trentyre.co.za, www.trentyre.co.za
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Open your warehouse to narrow aisles With the Artix® articulated forklift, pallets can be managed in aisles as narrow as 1.5m – allowing you to up overall storage capacity. It also lifts up to 2.5t to heights of 12.5m, and packs pallets at double-depth with extendible forks. • Front and all-wheel drive • Indoor and outdoor operation • Deep-cycle batteries for all day use • Advanced stability and cushioned tyres • Integrated high definition LCD CCTV for advanced visibility • Operators are trained in driving and forklift maintenance
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POWER TRANSMISSION
Flexible Drive Systems An industrial drive train, as in conveyors, mills, mixers and fans, is usually made up of an electric motor, a coupling and a gearbox or a pulley configuration to create enough torque to drive the system at optimum power consumption.
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raditionally the various components of Gary Smith of CMG Electric Motors & Drives a drive train come from different motor, gearbox and coupling manufacturers This has prompted CMG in Meadowdale, Germiston, and suppliers, requiring some engineering design to ensure the right combination for optimum to establish a mechanical division specifically to assist customers with more than just the selecperformance. This is steadily changing as end-users simply don’t have the engineering expertise any tion of the correct electric motor. “Bulk Handling Today” speaks to Gary Smith, mechanical product longer and expect suppliers to provide a solution manager, about the range of geared motors and rather than just a product. speed reducers they now offer.
By no means do we want to be seen as a gearbox supplier, but rather as a company who has all the necessary components to provide a complete drive solution
Solutions provider
“With CMG firmly established in the South African market over the past ten years in terms of electric motors, soft-starters and variable speed control solutions, more and more customers have started asking us for gearboxes,” he says. “The new division was started in 2010, but it took a couple of months to set up good quality suppliers and create a whole new inventory for the huge range of geared motors, speed reducers and geared adaptors which we now have in stock. “By no means do we want to be seen as a gearbox supplier, but rather as a company who has all the necessary components to provide a complete drive solution,” adds Gary. “After careful consideration we’ve not included couplings because they are high precision components of the drive train, best handled by the specialists. On the other hand, we’ve added small extras like mechanical speed variators and geared adaptors to our range of mechanical products.
Stock
There are helical shaft mounted speed reducers in single stage and two stage versions covering ratios of 5:1 right through to a 20:1 ratio
“The aim of this exercise is to provide the South African market with all the possible options available from under one roof in a packaged deal,” Gary says. “Although we’ve only been at it actively in the market a couple of months, the fact that we’re on target in terms of sales indicates that we’ve read the market right. For now we’re targeting the pump industry, mixing industry, the conveying market and OEMs manufacturing for the mining industry. Dealing directly with mines and the project houses will take a while longer to establish, but we’re confident that BULK HANDLING TODAY
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POWER TRANSMISSION
Customising
“To have more flexibility we’ve brought in an array of brackets and flanges to vary the mounting options of a conventional worm gearbox, for instance,” Gary elaborates. “By using different sleeves, bushes or shims we thus make one size gearbox much more flexible in that we can fit different motor sizes onto the same size gearbox for different requirements. “For example, the gearbox might be for a 24mm diameter shaft, but the motor size for a specific function only comes with a 19mm shaft,” explains Gary. “Rather than having to opt for a bigger motor just to match the shaft size, we simply adapt the motor’s shaft to fit with that gearbox. It also works the other way round. Customers often already have a motor with a shaft of a certain diameter but are then required to buy a bigger gearbox than is actually needed just to match it to the motor shaft. We just change the flange on the correct gearbox and it’s good to go.”
Variations
A mechanical variator changes the ratio of a gearbox mechanically
we have the products to serve the mining industry on a much broader base than before.”
The mechanical variator unit simply fits between the gearbox and the motor so that the speed of the motor can be set to various parameters On a walk through the warehouse where frantic unpacking of crates is taking place, we get a fair idea of what stock worth R4 million looks like. We walk through shelves filling up with row upon row of right angled gearboxes ranging in size from tiny 0.06 kW ratings to large ones at 15kW. There are helical shaft mounted speed reducers in single stage and two stage versions covering ratios of 5:1 right through to a 20:1 ratio. Other shelves are filling up with accessories like torque arms, flange adaptors and various sized taper bushes for these gearboxes.
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A mechanical variator changes the ratio of a gearbox mechanically to provide control over the output speed. “Many people are wary of electronic variators and still prefer a mechanical means of control,” says Gary. “The mechanical variator unit simply fits between the gearbox and the motor so that the speed of the motor can be set to various parameters. Say a motor runs at 1400 rpm, then a variator will give us the option of running it at anything between 200 and 1000 rpm into the gearbox. In addition, there’s still the reduction of speed through the gearbox, widening the flexibility of the drive even more.” Gary is a hands-on man who prefers to go on site himself to solve tricky challenges. “At the end of the day the mechanical division is there for the convenience of our customers by finding solutions to each one’s specific problems,” he says in conclusion. “By forming a solid partnership with customers we get to understand their operations and know exactly what their requirements are. Because of the flexibility we have in terms of tailoring a solution to specific applications, we will save them money.” Gary Smith, CMG Electric Motors & Drives, Tel: (011) 453-1930, Email: gary.smith@cmggroup.co.za, Website: www.cmggroup.co.za
POWER TRANSMISSION
Scarce Gears made Locally Straight-bevel gears, spiral-bevel gears, zero-bevel gears, hypoid gears and face gear sets all basically have similar functions, the transfer of power between two intersecting shafts. Yet one type may function much more effectively in certain applications than the other, therefore the differences.
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ot only do these gears differ in design, but hypoid gears, for instance, are more difficult and costly to manufacture and therefore very scarce, often forcing the engineer to choose another type of bevel gear set rather than the more expensive bevel gear type which would, in fact, function better in a given application. In South Africa, for example, good quality replacement hypoid and face gears have always traditionally been imported but gear manufacturing specialists, Adlam Engineering in Boksburg East, now makes all types of bevel gears locally, including these gears.
All bevel gears
“Bulk Handling Today” speaks to Thomas Adlam, the mechanical engineering director of Adlam Engineering. “A couple of years ago, we started manufacturing spiral bevel gears which have done so well on the South African market that we’ve since also developed the know-how to manufacture all the other types of bevel gears including hypoid and face gears.” Key to this development is cutting spiral gear sets. “The traditional method entails cutting and lapping the gears to ensure a good fit after heat treatment. The problem with the lapping process is that part BULK HANDLING TODAY
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POWER TRANSMISSION
of the involute profile of the gears, gets distorted in this process,” explains Thomas. “We re-machine the gears by using unique software developed in-house specifically for this purpose to ensure a perfect matching gear set every time”
Designing
Designing a spiral bevel gear can be complicated and highly specialised. “We provide customers with a one stop service of both designing and manufacturing the gears so that the customer can focus on his main project.” Straight-bevel, spiral-bevel and zero-bevel gears are run-of-the-mill products in this engineering
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shop. “Sales of the latest additions, hypoid gears and face gears, are bound to pick up soon when end-users become aware that these gears can be manufactured locally to world-class standards,” says Thomas. “Hypoid gears resemble bevel gears in some respects in that there is a tendency for the parts to taper. They are used on crossed-axis shafts, but differ from bevel gears in that the axes of rotation do not intersect each other.” Hypoid gears are stronger, operate more quietly and can be used for higher reduction ratios, but they also have some sliding action along the teeth which reduces mechanical efficiency due to the energy losses in the form of heat produced in the
POWER TRANSMISSION
gear surfaces and the lubricating fluid. In older car designs, hypoid gears were typically used in rear-drive drive trains, but modern designs have tended to substitute spiral bevel gears to increase driving efficiency.
Making a claim
Hypoid gears are still common in larger trucks because they can transmit higher torque, but for practical purposes, it is often impossible to replace low efficiency hypoid gears with more efficient spiral bevel gears because the spiral bevel gear would need a much larger diameter to transmit the same torque. “There are not many engineering shops locally that make acceptable quality hypoid gears in the sizes we’re offering,” says Thomas. “Because of costs we’ll only consider making these gears if they’re a minimum size of 400 millimetres and up to 1.6 metres in diameter. As far as we know we’re the only local company right now who can make this claim.”
Face gears
Face gears have teeth cut on the end face of the gear and behave functionally just like bevel gears. “Like bevel gears, the spur pinion and the face gear are mounted on shafts which usually intersect at an angle of 90 degrees, but they’re not limited to this angle,” explains Thomas. “The pinion bearing carries most of the radial while the gear bearings are subjected to both thrust and radial loads. One of the main advantages of these gears is that the mounting distance of the pinion from the pitchcone apex is not as critical as it is with bevel or hypoid gears.”
in terms of people, software and machinery for the range of new services they’re offering, further expansion is already in the pipeline. “We’ve just invested in a new gear grinding machine which will be installed and ready by April this year,” Thomas says in conclusion. “This new equipment will enable us to grind cylindrical spur gears as well as single and double helical gears of up to two metres in diameter and qualities of 3-4 (according to DIN standard 3962). It has a huge stroke length which will allow us to do face widths up to one metre wide. The machine also has an additional module with which we’ll be able to grind internal straight and helical gears in future.” Thomas Adlam, Adlam Engineering Tel: (011) 841-9628 or 086 112 3526 Email: thomas@adlameng.co.za
Although Adlam Engineering is up and running
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MARKET FORUM
FLSmidth has received an order for a second hoist for Royal Bafokeng Platinum’s Styldrift operation close to Sun City in the Rustenburg area. This follows the successful commissioning of a similar FLSmidth-designed winder for the mine’s main shaft in early 2011. The scope of the second order includes design, supply, delivery to site, installation and commissioning of a new 5.5 metre by 1.8 metre wide double
drum production winder. The unit will be manufactured during the course of this year and the four to five month installation phase is expected to begin in January 2013. Tom Sertic, project manager at Royal Bafokeng Platinum, comments that having two winders of the same design on the Styldrift shaft will create a number of synergies both in design and operational mode.
Wendy Naysmith, mine shaft systems sales engineer at FLSmidth, attributes the award of the mechanical hoist package for the development of the mine’s twin shaft system at Styldrift to the company’s expertise in the design and supply of mine hoists, coupled with its new global procurement business strategy. Wendy Naysmith, FLSmidth, Tel: (010) 2104820, Email: marinda.kerr@flsmidth.com, www.flsmidth.com
A close up of the man/material winder
a commercially valuable resource – to have each machine capable of sorting 1 000 tonnes of rock an hour. “The experience we have gained from more than 6,000 installed systems in the recycling, food and the mining industry plus experience from our ten test facilities around the world have led to significant advances in computing power, sensor technology and detection systems”, says Tomra President and CEO Stefan Ranstrand. “In this strategic R&D partnership, we will apply these new technologies to bulk mineral sorting, working towards enabling a scale not previously attainable”.
Tomra Sorting Solutions’ mining brand, CommodasUltrasort, and leading international mining group, Rio Tinto, will form a strategic partnership with the aim to develop commercial scale sorting systems for upgrading bulk minerals. Currently there are no solutions in the market that fulfil Rio Tinto’s specifications for a requested platform. A dedicated R&D programme will therefore be initiated by the two partners to develop an adequate solution. This work will include scaling up Rio Tinto’s iron ore and copper sorting technologies IronX(TM) and NuWave(TM) – which convert potential waste rock into
Lütke von Ketelhodt, GM Commodas Ultrasort South Africa
Lütke von Ketelhodt, CommodasUltrasort, Tel: 084 817-0888, Email: ketelhodt@commodasultrasort.com, www.commodas-ultrasort.com
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MARKET FORUM
BMG’s belting division has extended its range of components designed specially for the conveying of heavy minerals, to now include robust Megaroller idlers which ensure reliable operation, low maintenance requirements and extended service life.
“The Megaroller range is manufactured with virgin grade high density polyethylene, which allows for higher impact forces from conveyed materials and ensures excellent resistance to abrasion and ultra-violet rays,” says Ryan Forsyth, divisional engineering manager, BMG’s belting division. “These components are also fire retardant, which is critical in underground mining applications. Other important features of this conveyor roller include low friction of co-efficiency, the concentric design which decreases vibration, reduced noise levels and cost efficiency in bulk materials handling. “The BMG team has the technical skills to upgrade existing conveyor systems with the installation of Megaroller idlers, as well as all the necessary accessories to ensure compliance with stringent quality and safety standards.” This environmentally-friendly roller, which can be recycled, is known for its extended service life, which exceeds conventional conveyor rollers. Veronique Bezuidenhout, BMG – Bearing Man Group, Tel: (031) 576-6221, Email: veroniqueb@bmgworld. net, www.bmgworld.net
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MARKET FORUM
Goodyear introduces the company’s first commercial use of microchips in truck tyres. The new Goodyear Regional RHT II RFID (Radio Frequency Identity) 435/50R19.5 trailer tyre has a microchip built into it. The new tyre offers fleet operators benefits including reduced downtime, improved tyre management and greater security. Monitoring tyres can be a slow process as each tyre has to be identified by its sidewall markings, which are often not easy to see due to dirt or scuffing. RFID means that an operation can very quickly identify each tyre by passing a handheld scanner around the sidewall and then have that information accurately electronically recorded. There are further benefits as these tyres are much easier to trace if they are stolen and the tyres can be monitored throughout their service lives, including retreading. The reason that the size 435/50R19.5 was selected for RFID fitment is that it is the most popular tyre size among ‘megatrailer’ operators, allowing maximum volume within the European 4 metre overall trailer height limit. RFID makes tyre management faster and more accurate. The microchip is built into the tyre on
the assembly line and is programmed with a unique code that identifies the tyre, enabling a hand-held reader to see the type and size of the tyre as well as its unique identity number. In service, a Goodyear service provider or fleet operator can quickly scan all RFID tyres and record the details electronically, saving
Lize Hayward, Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Holdings, Tel: (041) 505-5421, Fax: 086-614-0368, Email: lize_hayward@goodyear.co.za
relative positions accurately to assure uniform load distribution. The rollers then engage in compression between the precision ground, hardened cam plane surfaces and inside diameter of the outer race.
Positive protection against reverse torque runaways of inclined conveyors or elevator installations can be assured by Marland backstops. During freewheeling, the cam and roller assembly rotate with the head shaft. The outer race is secured to stationary cover-plates and ‘I’ beam torque arm, an oil film wedges and separates the rollers from the outer race. This moves the rollers a few thousandths of a millimetre, imparting relative angular motion between the roller cage and cam. This slight movement of the rollers into the deeper cam zones, with a clean lubricant film wedge between rollers and outer race,
time and ensuring accuracy. Stock control of new, used and retreaded tyres is a further benefit.
permits freewheeling without metal to metal contact. When the conveyor decelerates and the cam subsequently comes to rest, the spring actuated cage has already positioned the rollers into the contact zone. All rollers have been positively guided to engage uniformly and maintain their
Relative motion between the cam and the outer is not required to engage rollers. When the backstop is in the “engaged” or “backstopping” condition, the cam, rollers and the outer race are relatively stationary and therefore not subject to wear if used within normal tabulated rating. Kevin Gill, Bibby Turboflex SA, Tel: (011) 918-4270, Email: sales@bibbyturboflex.co.za
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MARKET FORUM
Master of its trade HPE Africa National Service Manager Hein Stander points out that the Toolmaster has to date been used predominantly in forestry and bulk cargo applications in South Africa. “Due to its central point of gravity, the Toolmaster is able to lift between six and nine tons, depending on the model, while making a full turn,” he continues. “What’s more, the Toolmaster comes standard with a powerful Cummins engine, which is world-renowned for its reliability. Its excellent combustion efficiency provides maximum power with low fuel consumption, even in unfavourable outdoor conditions.” Bulk cargo handling company, Bridgeport Shipping, purchased a Toolmaster in 2009 to transport bulk cargo at its depot in City Deep, Johannesburg. Bridgeport Shipping workshop manager Douglas Perrin says: “The Toolmaster is used
predominantly for the bulk handling of fertiliser and chrome sand, and has to date proven highly-reliable. An added advantage is that we were able to attach a modified pusher to the machine with ease.” In addition to its competitive value-formoney, Doug believes that HPE Africa provides unrivalled after-sales and technical support. “The performance of the Toolmaster has been superb, with very few problems encountered over the past two years. An added bonus is the service from the HPE Africa team, who always go out of their way to ensure that we are entirely satisfied with every aspect of their product offering.” HPE Africa, Kirsty Denholm, Tel: (011) 3974670, Email: kirsty@hpeafrica.co.za, www.hpeafrica.co.za
More Flexible Booking Procedure Transnet Port Terminals and the Harbour Carriers Association have reached a mutual agreement which will see the piloting of a hybrid booking procedure for transporters using the Durban RoRo Terminal located in Mahatma Ghandi Road. The new arrangement promises greater flexibility for transporters and may ease road traffic congestion in the Point area especially around breakbulk commodities. Says Zeph Ndlovu, Terminal Executive, Durban RoRo and Maydon Wharf Terminal, “Currently truckers are expected to comply with pre-booked arrival timeslots stipulated by TPT based on physical capacity and equipment availability. This was becoming problematic for a host of reasons – transporters were allocated widely varying time slots or spent hours queuing while they awaited their slot; the system was badly affected by late arrivals, no-shows or equipment downtime; and administration delays or the long dwell time of bulky project cargo often slowed down the whole process. Under the new system, transporters arriving at the terminal during the daytime period between 06h00 and 22h00 will be served on a more flexible ‘first come first served’ basis. Ayanda Mantshongo, Transnet Port Terminals, Tel: (031) 361-6836, Cell: 076427-5765, Email: ayanda.mantshongo@transnet.net
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MARKET FORUM
Buyers should be careful to check the credentials of crane suppliers claiming local manufacture. They should also request typical spares prices before buying the crane. This is the caution by Condra Cranes’ managing director, Marc Kleiner, who says that an increasing number of lifting equipment suppliers are claiming local manufacture when they are in fact assembling a product made abroad. “These local assemblers are quoting very low purchase prices to get the order, then making their profit on the spare parts,” Marc claims.
Condra crane prior to despatch to Pretoria distributor
“Cranes from the Far East are always cheaper than those made in South Africa, but they are inferior to the local equivalent. They break down relatively
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quickly and need frequent servicing with associated spare parts,” he adds.
ways higher than that of the genuinely local crane.
Marc claims that the overall mediumterm cost of the cheaper import is al-
Marc Kleiner, Condra, Tel: (011) 021-3712, Email: condra@mweb.co.za
April 2012
MARKET FORUM
Murray & Roberts Cementation has got off to a good start on the mining contract to develop Northam’s new Booysendal North Platinum Mine – a greenfields underground UG2 project located in the Dwars Rivier valley on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex, approximately 40 kilometres due west of Mashishing (formally Lydenburg). The contract value is approximately R1.3 billion over a 36-month period and
includes the development and equipping of two sets of declines, namely the reverse decline cluster and the onreef decline cluster. Approximately 15 kilometres of tunnel development and 310 000 square metres of stoping will be carried out during this period. The scope of work includes initial stoping to ramp up production to a steady state of approximately 180 000 reef tonnes per month. This will allow the plant to
produce approximately 160 000 PGM (platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold) oz per annum. The mine will be a fully mechanised bord and pillar operation utilising drillrigs, bolters, utility vehicles and low profile load haul dumpers (LHDs). Allan Widlake, Murray & Roberts Cementation, Tel: (011) 201-5000, www.cementation. murrob.com
BULK HANDLING TODAY
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MARKET FORUM
MARKET FORUM
Unusual performance Even ‘meteoric’ could be an understatement when describing the growth of mobile elevator work platform (MEWP) rental company, Goscor Access Rental. In the seven months since the company started, it has grown from only a few machines to being the second largest in the local industry, and will have more than 100 units by June 2012. Operations director Dean Jones says, “We are very strong at understanding where MEWPS are needed and thus we do not have to rely too heavily on the more obvious and popular sectors, like construction, which are infamously erratic.” Meanwhile some of the big names in business in South Africa have helped boost Goscor Access Rental’s revenues. “We have several machines working on
the Sasol Gas Engine Power Plant project and several more on the new JD Group distribution centre in Boksburg,” says Dean. “We are of course very pleased that our client base includes such blue-chip names but we work very hard at giving a world class service so that anyone, big or small, can find renting a MEWP from us a user-friendly experience.” Dean adds that he is looking to expand the range of machines in the fleet so that customers will have greater choice. “For example within the next four to six weeks we will be taking delivery of at least 25 units, most of which being big diesel boom lifts from 85 feet platform height up to 135 feet.” Dean Jones, Goscor Access Rental, Tel: 0861 4675438 (GOSLIFT), Email: djones@goscor. co.za, www.goscor.co.za
Moving large loads smoothly According to Voith Manager – Engineering Services, Hans Voshol, Voith Turbo’s fluid coupling technology keeps abreast with industry demands to remain the most cost-effective installed product in drive systems. “Designed to adapt to prevailing load conditions, Voith Turbo TPKL fill-controlled turbo couplings smoothly control acceleration processes and ensure even load distribution with multi-motor drives”, explains Hans. With an external cooler, the drive is thermally exceptionally efficient and overloads are effortlessly overcome. Inspection runs and belt splicing positioning are easily handled as the empty belt can be moved at approximately 20% of its nominal speed. The couplings’ construction renders very low, quick and easy maintenance. These couplings ensure smooth starting of the conveyor belt system; with a start factor of 1.2 (and less) x Full Load Torque (FLT). Voith TPKL couplings will start the conveyor with the last recorded running values as set point to prevent full load starting on a half loaded or empty belt. The start torque limitation is achieved as the coupling uses the last running torque plus 20% (or less) additional torque for acceleration.
Dean Jones Operations Director Goscor Access Rental
Index to Advertisers AfricanRail 10 AfricanPorts 12 Akhanani 36 APC 32 Barloworld Equipment 24 B&E International 42 Bibby Turboflex 45 Bonfiglioli 26 CES 30 Condra 16 Dunlop 12 Dytro Transmissions 37 Eqstra/Terex 22 Horne 34, 43 HPE Africa 28
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Interflex Outside Front Cover Linde 19 Melco 30 Raytoko 38 RFA Convention 18 Scania InsideFront/Outside Back Cover Sandvik Inside Back Cover Scaw Metals 20 Schaeffler 44 SEW 4 SKF 27 Steffanutti Stocks 40 Veyance 14 Voith 31
April 2012
“Our couplings apply only the required torque as opposed to full load torque when a conveyor belt is either half loaded or empty, resulting in significant reductions of belt splice failure, cost and energy consumption, a major plus in these times of skyrocketing electricity prices,” comments Hans. The largest installation in South Africa, two 650DTPKL-E couplings, each transmitting 710kW, drive an overland conveyor from a mine to the stockyard. At one of the SA ports, they have 28 TPKL couplings in use and there are 2 x 2,8km overlands with six drives on each conveyor equally sharing the power required to move the belt. Roy Webster, Voith Turbo, Tel: (011) 418-4000, Email: roy.webster@voith.com, www.voith. com / www.rsa.voithturbo.com
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April 2012
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Oil change! At Scania, our dedication goes beyond delivering trucks, buses and engines with outstanding quality and operating economy. Behind the scenes, we are continually working to improve your transport uptime and business performance, with new offerings
ranging from parts and service to fi nancial solutions. Now, after years of development and testing, we are introducing a range of high-quality oils that proudly bear the Scania name. Scania Oil has been specially chosen and tested for the best possible quality.
We offer a Scania Oil for every Scania engine, gearbox and rear axle. So we can now match the right oil to fit your vehicle, drivetrain components and driving conditions. This gives you security for your drivetrain and peace of mind for you.
Scania Southern Africa For more information contact your nearest Dealer. Details available on www.scania.co.za
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