SME Annual Meeting

Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT

Preprint 14-021
DRC1200 HARD ROCK SIZER A TWIN ROLL SIZER DESIGNED FOR MOBILITY
T. Good, Joy Global Inc., Franklin, PA
J. Zimmerman, Joy Global Inc., Franklin, PA

proceeded. During the trial, it was noticed that the sizer bits were
wearing at unacceptable rates to meet the mines operating cost/tonne
requirement for the sizer to be viable. These high wear rates were
attributed to the open pit ores hardness. A different grade of ore,
similar to what would be experienced underground, was tried as well
as a different bit material. The trial concluded that the sizer was not a
viable option for the mine due to higher than feasible operating
cost/tonne. These increased costs were accumulated by the bits high
wear rates and were amplified by the time required to replace the bit.
Replacement of the bit required it to be cut off of the rotor, the new bit
and rotor to be pre-heated, welded together, and then post-heated.
This would have to be done 15+ times on each rotor, which added up
to over 40 hours of labor to replace bits on the third party sizer. For
the HRXS to continue as a progressive step change in underground
block caving mines, eliminating the LHD and large stationary crushers
while producing more tonnes without any diesel emissions, a better
sizer needed to be designed.

ABSTRACT
Twin roll sizers are neither compactly designed machines nor are
they configured to accommodate underground mobility; in fact, twin roll
sizers leave room for improvement in many aspects of the design. The
DRC1200 capitalizes on the weaknesses of these machines to make a
more productive, easily maintained, and compact twin roll sizer than
current market offerings. These strides were made through the
inception of the Hard Rock Extraction System (HRXS), which requires
a mobile sizer as part of the system. After use of a third party sizer on
the HRXS, potential improvements were evident. These improvements
include improved structural design to reduce overall footprint and an
optimized design to reduce operating cost.
HARD ROCK EXTRACTION SYSTEM (HRXS)
Introduction to the HRXS
The Hard Rock Extraction System (HRXS) is a progressive
method of reaching autonomous production in block caving mines.
The HRXS consists of a loading machine coordinated with a sizer
mounted on a mobile chassis, a discharge conveyor, and a means of
removing the sized ore from the mine. The HRXS was conceived to
reduce and possibly eliminate the heat loading and ventilation issues
associated with the usage of diesel engines in conventional block
caving equipment.
Utilizing the HRXS concept also improves
production efficiency and lowers operating costs when compared to
conventional block caving practices. The need for LHDs as the main
production equipment will be eliminated as well as stationary crushers
unless secondary crushing is desired for ore size. The HRXS was
planned to be designed, tested, and instated in three major stages.
The first stage was a mine site surface test with ore from an open pit to
control the environment and simulate underground production
methods.
The second stage was the operation of the HRXS
underground via remote and evolving to remote operation of up to
three systems from the surface. The third stage of the HRXS was an
autonomous system requiring minimal input during the production
process.

DRC1200

Figure 1. DRC1200.

Stage one machine specification discussions began in February

2011 and by July 2011 we received the customers intent to purchase
agreement. In February, the Innovation team began the conceptual
and rough design of the HRXS. In July, we began ordering long lead
time parts. In August, engineering started releasing packets of
documentation to manufacturing who began procuring material in
September. The HRXS was built and shipped by January 2012.

Productivity
The DRC1200 is powered by a 310kW AC motor coupled to a
compact gear reducer by a replaceable torque shaft and a torque
limiting clutch. The gear reducer is available in two reductions 65:1
and 80:1, for 50 Hz and 60 Hz supplied power. The usage of the
torque shaft and torque limiting clutch provides stiff power to the
gearbox and maximizes the torque and power available to break rock
and eliminates the need for a fluid coupling. This drive method
provides maximum motor torque and inertial effects of the drivetrain to
the rock while eliminating a major maintenance item in the fluid
coupling. The DRC1200 provides sizing in three steps: primary,
secondary, and tertiary. Primary and secondary sizing takes place via
the bits and the rock entering between the rotors, at the 1200mm
center to center distance. The tertiary sizing occurs between the rotors
and breaker bar. The breaker bar is adjustable to achieve the desired
size of ore in the final sizing step.

Inception of the DRC1200

The HRXS stage one surface trial is where the need for the
DRC1200 originated. The DRC1200 was required for the HRXS to
remain feasible as well as to expand JOYs existing crushing portfolio.
After commissioning the prototype HRXS and resolving start-up
issues, the trial was commenced to acquire production time and ore
tonnage through the third party sizer. Throughout commissioning and
testing, several issues were noticed with the third party sizer. The
sizer was too large for underground mobility as expected from earlier
documentation and the sizer required too much maintenance by
utilizing a greaser, a large amount of external mounting for additional
oil coolers, and slow replacement of wear parts. JOYs Innovation
team continued to actively interact with the HRXS as the trial

Size
One area of major improvement for the DRC1200 was overall
size, as this is required by the HRXS and will adapt well to other
market segments with space constraints. The DRC1200 was designed

Copyright 2014 by SME

SME Annual Meeting

Feb. 23 - 26, 2014, Salt Lake City, UT
very easy and increasing total life of the main DRC1200 structure.
Other overlay wear plates are welded to the rotor assembly for added
wear resistance and increased life.

to be the smallest possible package with a 1200mm center to center

rotor distance. This size allows the DRC1200 to easily be mobilized
underground and complete 90 turns in 4.5m x 4.5m entries without
issue. The overall dimensions of the sizer are 4273mm long, 3060mm
wide, and 1600mm tall. That is 40% shorter and 10% narrower than
the competitions machine that was used on the HRXS trial. These
dramatic size reductions were achieved by utilizing a unique
component configuration with the majority of the length reduction
coming from the gear reducer. The reducer package was designed to
utilize the width of the machine and minimize the length of the reducer
and motor as a combination. With JOYs gear reducer only 25% of the
motor protrudes beyond the reducer.

To reduce other routine maintenance items commonly found on

competitive sizers, everything requiring lubrication will be oil lubricated.
This will eliminate a cumbersome greaser and external grease lines
that can be damaged. The sizer motor and oil will be cooled by water
that is sent to sprays that suppress dust generated by the sizing
process.
Software
The DRC1200 has two modes, a production mode and a
maintenance mode. In production mode, the machine can be operated
locally, or via teleremote. This can be advantageous when utilizing
batch haulage; the sizer can be started by the haulage operator while
en route. The DRC1200 also utilizes the JOY Optidrive AC Variable
Frequency Drive System; the usage of the VFD in production mode
allows the sizer to have soft start functionality. This soft start feature
minimizes current inrush when the 310kW motor is started reducing
infrastructure requirements and adapting better to generator sets if
utilized. If a jam occurs while in production mode, a sequence will
automatically initiate to clear the jam reducing operator inputs and
downtime. Maintenance mode is provided to allow bit replacement and
controlled diagnostics. While in maintenance mode the VFD will allow
slow, controlled rotor rotation to get components into more ergonomic
or accessible positions.

Maintenance
An important aspect of the DRC1200s design was maintainability.
Simplified design and quickly replaceable components will reduce
labor and increase uptime which will contribute to meeting our low
operating cost goals. Leveraging JOYs cutting and bit knowledge, a
replaceable bit was designed. The use of a replaceable bit will
decrease the time required to change all of the bits to a few hours.
Replacing the bits will not require any cutting or welding. Bits can be
easily replaced until a rotor needs a rebuild, at which point the set of
rotors can be removed and exchanged with a new or rebuilt set without
adjusting a single bearing. The rotors are plugged into the input hubs
which transmit motor torque to the rotor then the front of the sizing
chamber is installed along with side fingers and the breaker bar. At
this point, the sizer is back into production. The rotor is modularly
configured for flexibility to allow bit indexing to be varied upon
manufacture as well as simplify rebuilds. This also allows customer
input for different ore materials and configuration preferences.

The DRC1200s onboard electronic controls provide machine

component protection, fault detection, system interlocking, and
diagnostic capabilities. The supplied component controls are:

Motor thermal overload protection

Motor jam protection
Machine cooling detection
Rotor jam detection
Torque shaft breakage detection
Oil and bearing temperature measurement
Low oil level detection
Cooling water flow measurement

These sensing capabilities provide machine state, protection and

fault status, and troubleshooting information locally at the machine and
additionally this information can be provided outby or on the surface.
The advanced and proven controls for the sizer dramatically decrease
troubleshooting time and can provide early failure detection of
components for a scheduled maintenance replacement, both of which
increase machine uptime and reduce cost.
Interlocking of upstream and downstream equipment, such as a
feed conveyor and a discharge conveyor, into a system is an easily
adapted option to the DRC1200 software. The interlocking of JOYs
sizer into surrounding equipment will allow automated start-up and
shutdown sequences optimizing material flow and energy usage during
the production process.

Figure 2. Star Wheel Section of Rotor.

Along with the easily replaced rotor bits, the breaker bar that is
required for tertiary sizing of the ore is designed with replaceable
breaker bits retained by a protected bolt. The breaker bar is easily
accessed from underneath the sizer with bit replacement possible
without removing the breaker bar.

Going Forward
The design of the DRC1200 is nearing completion and the
Innovation team is looking for a mine site to trial the sizer. After the
trial, the DRC1200 will be ready for production and the HRXS will once
again be a viable future for block caving as well as other applications.

The sizing chamber is lined with a wear resistant overlay material

to resist highly abrasive hard ores. This overlay is fastened to the
structural sidewalls by way of protected bolts, making replacement

Copyright 2014 by SME