Serving to to forestall haul highway overwatering and underwatering is the brand new Cat 789D autonomous water truck (AWT) designed to reinforce productiveness by enabling mine operations to digitally monitor 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 obtainable AWT is constructed on the field-proven 789D mining truck chassis and integrates the truck, tank and Cat Water Supply System (WDS), related with Cat MineStar expertise.
That includes Command for hauling, the brand new 789D AWT presents the identical potential for larger utilization than staffed gear. The totally 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 gear and integrates with buyer mining processes and techniques managed by MineStar.
The 789D is the most important 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 might 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 carried out a MineStar-integrated watering mannequin primarily based on a few years of website watering research and Cat WDS efficiency information. This mannequin permits the truck to watch visitors, climate and highway situations, 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 situations. 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 resolution,” says Corey Wurtzbacher, common supervisor and vp expertise and international gross sales assist 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 your entire integration course of. The staff started constructing communication between the truck on-board techniques 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 verify has been carried out in Cat WDS to substantiate all truck management techniques are working suitable software program and reporting any onboard failures to the MineStar system for acceptable corrective motion.
Absolutely built-in into the truck’s design, the unique Cat WDS varies waterflow primarily based on truck velocity and robotically determines the correct quantity of water wanted to manage mud. Figuring out the place, when and the way a lot water to dispense, the 789D AWT helps prospects preserve water, a scarce useful resource at many mining areas all over the world.
When truck velocity drops beneath the minimal watering velocity setting, decided by website operations, the system halts water supply to assist stop overwatering, poor traction, and harm to haul highway intersections and different stopping areas.
When truck velocity exceeds the minimal watering velocity setting, the system begins depositing the desired quantity of water commanded by MineStar. Cat WDS actively displays water stage and robotically turns off watering as soon as the tank is empty. To scale back potential harm, the system has a number of safeguards in place to forestall the water pump from working dry. This function helps delay 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 gear to reinforce total 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 change 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 circulate and computerized willpower of the correct quantity of water wanted to manage mud.
