ROPESYS R83 on Bucket-Wheel Excavator 293.
The ROPESYS R83 rope testing device was used on excavator 293 at the Hambach open-cast mine.
Weighing around 14,200 tonnes and measuring 225 meters in length and 96 meters in height, the bucket-wheel excavator ranks among the largest pieces of heavy machinery in the world.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is considered the largest and heaviest land vehicle on Earth.
The operation focused on the four hoist ropes of the massive machine. Each of these wire ropes has a diameter of 75 millimeters.
They perform an important function for the boom’s lifting and lowering movements.
ROPESYS R83 rope testing device under real-world conditions
During the inspection, the ROPESYS R83 rope testing device demonstrated its capabilities directly on the machine. Dr. Martin Wehr conducted the magnetic rope inspection on-site, examining the four hoist ropes.
Conditions for technical components are particularly demanding in open-cast mining.
Therefore, it is important that a rope testing device not only functions under controlled conditions but can also be used directly at the specific installation.
Excavator 293 achieves a theoretical daily output of up to 240,000 cubic meters.
The requirements placed on its technical components are correspondingly high. These include the hoist ropes, the condition of which must be assessed regularly and reliably.
Magnetic testing of large wire ropes
A purely visual inspection cannot reveal all changes in a wire rope.
This is because certain types of damage occur inside the rope and cannot be clearly detected from the outside.
The ROPESYS R83 rope testing device, on the other hand, enables magnetic testing of the wire rope.
This allows for the detection of, among other things, localized wire breaks and cross-sectional area losses. The measurement data thus provide additional information regarding the internal and external condition of the rope.
This additional information is particularly important for wire ropes with a diameter of 75 millimeters.
For the larger the rope and the greater the load it bears, the more important a reliable technical assessment becomes.
Rope testing device for open-pit mining
The application on Excavator 293 demonstrates how a ROPESYS rope testing device can be used even under the specific conditions of an open-cast mine.
It is not just the measurement itself that is the focus; safe handling, meaningful measurement data, and their expert assessment are equally important.
In this way, the ROPESYS R83 rope testing device provides information on the condition of the rope exactly where it is needed: right at the massive machine operating in the Hambach open-cast mine.
ROPESYS – Safety at the highest level. Made by engineers in Germany.
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