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Welcome
Eddy Current Testing for the Mining Industry
A little over 17 years ago, while strip mining was still in its prime, our clientele was becoming concerned with aging of the draglines. New machine orders were declining, spare parts were not readily available, and new part costs were rising. Maintenance was becoming more of a priority in the prediction of part failures/replacements.
Employees in the mining industry that had to work on a dragline knew about open gear lubrication. There was nothing that would remove this substance from work clothes. This was a positive because the high tack ability of the lubricant was needed to keep the gear system protected.
The problems were removal of the lubricant to examine the gear system required many man hours, and the personnel could not be used for other tasks. One of our clients would put a four man team on the swing rack gearing and after three days only one third of the gear may be examined. For 100% of the gear, the task was taking an entire quarter's worth of shutdown time. Ultron was asked if anything could be done to speed this up (our speciality was then and is now Ultrasonic Testing). Ultron began R&D as we could find equipment available for experimentation.
Two and one half years later, Ultron developed a crude method by utilizing Eddy Current as opposed to Ultrasonic Testing to give us the most repeatablity and the quickest nondestructive test. We were given a chance (and our clients worked with us patiently) as we developed the system. We made errors but we were accomodating their needs. Ultron lowered the time requirements down to two men for 12 hours for a 100% swing gear inspection. We still had much to learn.
Ultron began designing our own probes and specifications. We found a manufacturer to build to our specifications, and we licensed the probe under our name. This prevented others from learning how to provide inspections on ferromagnetic material.
What you can expect from Eddy Current Testing
Our two man crew is its own safety department within yours.
Maintenance will need to remove cover(s) to give us access to the gears.
Swing rack examination with the machine being indexed can be completed in eight hours or less. If the machine stays stationary, the inspection could take at least twelve hours.
Pull the covers on the hoist and drag bull gears, a dedicated maintenance man is advised to help rotate the component. It is actually easier to rotate the hoist drum by using the brakes. We can complete both gears in one maintenance down day, about 12 hours.
For Propel bull gears the dragline will have to take one step for a complete examination. Both gears can be completed in one maintenance down day, 12 hours.
All we need is solvent to verify the cracks for you. A step ladder and rags are also appreciated.
No supervision is needed. We also have our own MSHA ID number, with training in parts 46 & 48.
Our personnel will leave a report upon completion showing the areas of concern.
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