Dragline excavator

A dragline is a mining device and is used for the removal of overburden. In response to the dimensions and size of the open-cast mining, it can also simultaneously be used for the transport and tilting the so-called Direktversturz.

Construction

A dragline excavator consists of an undercarriage and superstructure a rotary. The superstructure is attached to a boom, on which an excavating bucket is suspended from cables. The dragline with a volume of up to 120 m³ hangs freely on the vertical ropes. With a horizontally mounted rope the dragline is drawn to the excavator. With another rope of the bucket is opened and closed. Dragline can move with crawler tracks or walking mechanism.

Operation

The excavator is swung in the direction of the degraded material and lowered the bucket. A horizontal rope, the bucket is reinvented itself dragged over the rocks and so filled. After the filling of the bucket of the excavator is lifted and rotated in the desired direction. At the destination point arrived the bucket is emptied. Much less the loading of a transport agent is (eg: heavy trucks ).

Pros and Cons

The use of draglines has the following advantages:

• Relatively low investment costs,
• Low maintenance costs,
• High performance,
• With long booms, the overburden directly on the butt, without use of other means of transport, be turned over (so-called Direktversturz ).

These points make it one of the mining equipment with the lowest specific operating costs.

The following are disadvantages:

• Used by low pressure of the scraper bowl only in soft or blasted material
• Transport should be loaded (rarely), it can be tilted only relatively imprecise,
• The length of the cantilever limits the width of the pit working plane ( there is where won the Nutzmineral ), which may in large devices lead to space problems.