Capital Equipment News September 2018

MACHINE CUSTOMISATION

(L-R): Jürgen Putz, product designer at ETT; Ruan Pretorius, product designer at ETT; Richard Everingham, MD and owner of ETT; and Brian Rachman, GM of Bobcat KZN, with the two Bobcat S70 loaders before modification.

on the transmitter as well as text feedback on an LCD screen. Over and above the transmitter feedback, a warning siren will signal on an intermittent basis whenever a fault condition exists. “The machines needed to be low profile and remote-controlled as they are deployed to work in very tight spaced areas below the aluminium furnaces and pot rooms, collecting ash spillage and dust powder filtered under the furnaces after casting,” explains Raw.

The last major leg of modification saw the cooling sys- tem being upgraded to a fully hydraulically-driven cooling fan with a larger vertically orientated radiator, as well as a hydraulic cooler. “The park brake and engine kill solenoids were also replaced with their hydraulic counterparts as we have learned that solenoids and electric fans do not function in these high magnetic fields,” says Pretorius. Success story Pretorius says the modification project took about eight weeks to complete. The machines have been operational for four months now, and have surpassed the client’s expectations thus far. “The client is moving about double the material in less than half of the time compared with competition machines on site. The machines can also be used on a continuous cycle time due to the increased cooling capability. This is in contrast with current competition machines on site that are battery-powered and prone to overheating,” explains Pretorius. Raw says the project is one of the many successful collaborations between Bobcat South Africa and Engi- neering Top Tech. The two companies have collaborated on many of the modification projects for aluminium companies throughout the country and southern Africa at large. “This project also casts the spotlight on the flexibility and versatility of a Bobcat loader, as well as Bobcat South Africa’s commitment to provide custom built, cost-effective solutions to exact customer needs,” says Raw. “We have extensive experience in designing and modifying aluminium industrial vehicles, as well as mining support equipment to customer specs. Bobcat South Africa chose us for this project because we are renowned spe- cialists in this field,” concludes Pretorius. b

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS SEPTEMBER 2018 24