Komatsu Australia has released its "next generation" in mining shovels, the PC7000, a 700 tonne class machine available in face shovel and backhoe configurations, and matched to plus 200 tonne trucks such as 830E, 860E and 930E units.
According to Michael Hall, Komatsu Australia's National Product Manager, the new PC7000 which had its worldwide release in April 2016 Bauma, Germany extends the company's portfolio of loading tools in the plus 200 tonne truck classes, adding to the Global Market Leading PC8000."This shovel meets the mining industry's requirements for high productivity through its proven Komatsu performance pedigree and offers lowest cost per tonne in its class," he said.
Testing in Australia has confirmed the production benefits delivered by the large bucket capacity, fast cycle time, high breakout force and excellent stability of the PC7000.
Mr Hall said that customer input into the new shovel was a key factor in its development.
"The PC7000 mining shovel is an example of Komatsu's innovative design philosophy and technology-driven engineering.
"It represents the latest in mining technology, and was developed as a result of close collaboration with our mining industry partners from around the world with mining becoming ever more challenging, we opted for a truly customer-oriented approach," he said.
"As part of this process, our long-term mining partners were asked to define their requirements for the next generation of shovels."
"They identified safety, productivity, maintainability and performance as key drivers and all were taken into consideration by our design and development engineers."
The design of this machine was also heavily influenced by industry groups such as EMERST.
The highest engine power and breakout force in the class provide fast cycle times, combined with an easy fill bucket design, results in less time in the face to fill the bucket and reduces fuel consumption per BCM.
The Komatsu Hydropilot system prioritises hydraulic flow ensuring smooth hydraulic response, with simple system layout and reduced number of components.
Maintenance-related downtime has been significantly reduced, with the machine design providing easy access to major components, centralised service points and improved maintenance access via the location and increased width of walkways.
KOMTRAX Plus, Komatsu's industry-leading machine monitoring system, which is a standard feature on the PC7000, lets customers constantly check the machine's operating status of their machine.
For Australian customers, all machine operational data is constantly monitored and checked at our INSITE Fleet Management Centre at our Fairfield headquarters.
"This INSITE centre constantly monitors data covering key machine, fleet, production and industry parameters across all Komatsu mining, construction and utility machines operating throughout Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, ensuring we harness the latest ICT (information communications technology) to derive maximum benefits for our customers," he said.
Production enhancing technology on the PC7000 is provided by Modular Mining ProVision, delivering advantages such as:
Bi-directional data transfer from Mine Planning to the machine and from the machine to Mine Planning
Improved bench level adherence to plan
Delineation of blocks and polygons to enable selective mining and ore grade consistency, minimising material waste and improving production efficiency
Enhanced safety via hazard alerts, restricted area identification and proximity warnings
With backhoe, front shovel, diesel and electric drive configurations already sold around the world, this product is rapidly obtaining market acceptance.
Brief specs of the diesel drive PC7000:
Engine - Make
2 x KOMATSU
Engine - Model
SSDA16V159E-2
Rated Power (SAE)
kW
2500
Emission Regulations
Tier 2 certified
Overall Length of Crawler Assembly
mm
10500
Crawler Length (Centres)
mm
7875
Track Pads Width
mm
1500 / 1900
Max. Propel Speed
km/h
2.5
BACKHOE
FRONT SHOVEL
Bucket Capacity SAE 1:1 / 1:2
cum
36.0
36.0
Density
t/cum
1.8
1.8
Breakout Force
kN
1671 (ISO)
1994 (ISO)
Max. Reach (centre tooth)
m
20.4
17.7
Operational Weight
t
682.0
674.0