In addition, traditional cleaning methods place mine employees in undesirable working conditions, in contact with water, dirt, mud, stones, chemicals (eg. detergent and degreaser) and hazardous substances (eg. asbestos, lead etc.), often in harsh climatic conditions.
According to ABB general manager robotics, Olivier Coquerel, manual truck cleaning methods can take up to five hours per truck, which consumes valuable resources - both man and machine. He also says cleaners are at risk of repetitive strain injury from wielding extremely heavy water hoses.
During his presentation at ABB Automation and Power World 2012 in Queensland, Coquerel revealed a new robotic truck washing solution developed through a partnership between ABB and Vale - the world's largest iron ore producer, based in Brazil.
Now available in Australia, ABB Robotic Mining Truck washing solutions reportedly offer many benefits over conventional washing solutions, including: reduced water consumption; a more thorough clean; increased flexibility; and a safer work environment.
The robust, flexible solution features optical sensors on the robot wrist, allowing washing parameters to be programmed including: the type and size of the truck or vehicle; areas to wash; washing time; times of washing; and with/without detergent/degreaser.
Operators can instruct the robot to avoid sensitive areas (eg. electrical parts) when using water, detergent or degreaser, and different water applications, directions and angles can be programmed for a more thorough wash.
According to Coquerel, the robot solution not only allowed Vale to reduce washing time by 50 percent, but also increased truck availability, improved the quality of the wash, and reduced waste, whereby water, detergent and degreaser were recycled.
Coquerel anticipates ABB's Robotic Mining Truck washing solutions will have applications in both mines and manufacturing operations in Australia, and claims the company has already received interest from local mining operations.
