Serving to to forestall haul highway overwatering and underwatering is the brand new Cat 789D autonomous water truck (AWT) designed to boost productiveness by enabling mine operations to digitally observe water consumption and cut back waste.
Absolutely integrating into the mine website’s Cat Command autonomous haulage fleet to manage haul highway mud, the market’s first commercially accessible AWT is constructed on the field-proven 789D mining truck chassis and integrates the truck, tank and Cat Water Supply System (WDS), linked with Cat MineStar know-how.
That includes Command for hauling, the brand new 789D AWT gives the identical potential for larger utilization than staffed tools. The absolutely autonomous truck reduces shift adjustments, meal breaks and different operational delays to enhance effectivity.
Complying with watering plans, the water truck interacts with different autonomous tools and integrates with buyer mining processes and methods managed by MineStar.
The 789D is the biggest Cat water truck product providing that may accommodate as much as 165,000 l (43,588 gal), relying on tank configuration. The AWT senses when the water tank is working low and could be programmed to combine with the water refill station to totally automate the water refill course of. The auto shutoff function prevents tank overfilling.
“To satisfy buyer necessities for mud management, Caterpillar applied a MineStar-integrated watering mannequin based mostly on a few years of website watering research and Cat WDS efficiency information. This mannequin permits the truck to watch site visitors, climate and highway circumstances, prioritise what areas want watered, when the areas want watered, and what number of passes it ought to take to use the correct quantity of water saturation, for the given circumstances. The combination of Caterpillar’s a few years of autonomous truck operations and water supply improvement have been mixed to make a excessive performing autonomous watering answer,” says Corey Wurtzbacher, basic supervisor and vice chairman know-how and international gross sales help at Caterpillar.
When Caterpillar got down to develop an autonomous water truck, integration with Cat MineStar Command for hauling and the Cat WDS was key to the whole integration course of. The crew started constructing communication between the truck on-board methods and the workplace management consol to work along with the Cat WDS interface.
To make sure seamless operation and correct communication between the water supply system and MineStar, a compatibility examine has been applied in Cat WDS to verify all truck management methods are working suitable software program and reporting any onboard failures to the MineStar system for applicable corrective motion.
Absolutely built-in into the truck’s design, the unique Cat WDS varies waterflow based mostly on truck pace and mechanically determines the correct quantity of water wanted to manage mud. Understanding the place, when and the way a lot water to dispense, the 789D AWT helps clients preserve water, a scarce useful resource at many mining places around the globe.
When truck pace drops beneath the minimal watering pace setting, decided by website operations, the system halts water supply to assist stop overwatering, poor traction, and injury to haul highway intersections and different stopping areas.
When truck pace exceeds the minimal watering pace setting, the system begins depositing the desired quantity of water commanded by MineStar. Cat WDS actively displays water stage and mechanically turns off watering as soon as the tank is empty. To cut back potential injury, the system has a number of safeguards in place to forestall the water pump from working dry. This function helps extend water pump life and extends service intervals.
The automated system’s flat, managed spray sample delivers optimum litres-per-square-meter (gallons-per-square-foot) protection throughout the haul highway. Bigger, heavier droplets designed to achieve the bottom aids in lowering spray loss to wind and evaporation.
Decreasing well being hazards related to airborne particles, automated water supply helps the discount of mud that limits operator visibility for staffed tools to boost general website security. Distant tank fill management, full with auto shut-off to forestall overfilling, eliminates the necessity for a employee to be concerned within the refilling course of, lowering the potential of slips and falls.
Mines can rapidly swap the 789D AWT from autonomous mode to staffed mode as obligatory for duties like entrance water cannon operation. The cannon has a capability of distributing as much as 2,839 l/min (759 gal/min) with a sprig distance reaching 60m (200ft). Even with staffed operation, Auto Mode water supply automates the watering course of to leverage variable water stream and automated dedication of the correct quantity of water wanted to manage mud.
