Modern Mining April 2018

PRODUCT News

Parnis delivers drum winder to Canada

relieving, after which the gussets and stiff- eners are removed and another full NDT and dimensional inspection conducted. “All this testing is done to ensure the integrity of the material has not been compromised at any stage during theman- ufacturing process,” says Berry. “The large fabrication is then marked up to ensure machining allowances are within specifica- tion, and joint faces are pre-machined on the horizontal boring machines, making use of temporary holes.” Parnis Manufacturing’s facility is equipped with horizontal borers which have capacities of up to 5,5 m longitudinal travel and a height of 2,5 m. The drum is then assembled with tem- porary fasteners and is inspected once again. Following this process, it is set up for further pre-machining, leaving material for the final machining phase. “The drum is then dismantled and final machining of the joint faces – with joint holes – is conducted,”he says.“Final assem- bly is done followed by final machining using the vertical boring machine.” Parnis Manufacturing tackles not only new winders but also has an established track record for the repair and complete refurbishment of mine winders. Mario Guerini, Parnis Manufacturing, tel (+27 11) 613-3801, e-mail: mario@parnis.co.za ing luminous coverage LED floodlights that feature special optics that maximise light coverage. The four 350 W LED lights match the typical luminosity of four 1 000 W metal halide lights. “Low running costs are a staple feature of the QLB 60 and can be as much as 95 % lower thanks to the time-saving remote start functionality that eliminates the need for personnel to be sent to the worksite. The remote start can be set via photocell or weekly timer,” says Craig Swart, Fleet Manager at Rand-Air. Mines will not have an issue when it comes to positioning the QLB 60 light tower where it is required as the mast is extremely stable and quick to operate. “Once the light tower is setup, the time-saving remote functionality and the QLB 60’s large fuel tank that delivers 260 hours of up time will help ensure that it can lighten up the site with greater autonomy for longer as well,” concludes Swart. Rand-Air, website: www.randair.co.za

So well regarded is Parnis Manufacturing’s reputation in manufacturing and refur- bishing mine winders that the company recently delivered a 23-tonne, 3-m single drum winder to a gold mining company in Canada. The unit will be used as a man winder and service hoist, and will be used to reach a depth of 2 000 m. Manufacturing the winder using material that is safety critical, Parnis Manufacturing’s contribution was to profile and roll, fabricate and weld, inspect, machine and paint – among other special- ist services. Its quality systems, depth of expertise and range of heavy machinery are among

the factors that have ensured its success in this field, according to Brian Berry, Works Manager at Parnis Manufacturing. “We work from drawings supplied by our customers, first inspecting the mate- rial to ensure that it complies with the specifications, and then preparing it for welding. This is essential to ensure an optimum quality result,” he says. “A critical element in the fabrication of the winder drum is our specialised welding and boilermaking skills.” Boilermakers fabricated the drum using S355J2+N steel, a raw material that can be sourced either from a local supplier or imported – depending on availability and the demands of the project’s timeframe. “Winder manufacture is certainly a complex engineering task, with the final product comprising a drum, two brake car- riers and two brake discs, as well as a shaft, gear box, couplings, bearings and bearing bases,” says Berry. After the welding process is completed, the drum goes through full non-destruc- tive testing (NDT ) and dimensional inspection to ensure that it conforms to the drawing specifications and that the requirements of the customer are met. This large component is then sent for stress

Parnis Manufacturing has a solid reputation for manufacturing and refurbishing mine winders.

Available from Rand-Air, one of the market leaders in the rental of compressors and generators, is the new Atlas Copco QLB 60 LED light tower available from Rand-Air LED light tower, which is well-suited for use at opencast mining operations. This unit reportedly has industry-lead-

Monitoring mine hoists around the clock ABB Ability™ Performance Optimisation for hoists is a remote-enabled, software- assisted service that monitors mine hoists 24/7. It applies automatic data gathering and analysis to allow issues that affect per- formance to be addressed.

points, including the hoist’s motor, hydrau- lics and brakes, and automatically analyses this data to identify, categorise and priori- tise the root causes of potential problems. It then identifies small deviations that could potentially result in an unwanted stop so the customer can take corrective action. The service proactively alerts appropri- ate customer and ABB personnel via SMS or e-mail to issues needing attention. This service also includes two annual detailed performance overview reports. Today, 26 mine hoists in Sweden and two in Finland are supported by ABB hoist ser- vice agreements. ABB Inc, website: www.abb.com

The service connects customers to ABB experts for further evaluation and trouble- shooting of hoist performance through a new ABB Ability™ Collaborative Operations Centre in Västerås, Sweden. Customer operations and maintenance personnel can use this innovative service on a daily basis to quickly pinpoint issues to address that improve hoist availability. It gathers data from numerous operational

46  MODERN MINING  April 2018