AUTOMATION OF A JUMBO DRILL USING ELECTROHYDRAULIC CYLINDER

In touring a typical mine one will often find equipment that has been modified since its original purchase. These modifications are usually made to correct a defect or alter the equipment to perform a function other than originally specified. To some extent this same attitude has been incorporated in mining equipment manufacturers attempts to automate equipment. In colloquial terms, however, this adding of automation concepts to existing machinery is reworking an outdated piece of equipment.;A more logical approach to automation of any piece of equipment is to proceed through a total redesign. This is not to say that the entire machine must be considered obsolete, rather that the existing machine must be redesigned from the frame up and not put together in a patch work fashion. For a device such as the jumbo drilling machine the general design cannot be changed because its form is dictated by the working environment. What can be changed, however, is the boom configuration and the method of powering the manipulator that supports the drilling device. At the present time those companies involved in jumbo automation are automating the existing power system through a series of automation devices that duplicate standard boom operation. This system is not only very complicated but it also retains the negative aspects of the existing system. The proposed electrohydraulic power method not only is simpler to operate but it substantially reduces the problems of hydraulic leakage and complicated hydraulic control maintenance. This coupled with using a five degree of freedom boom results in a machine that is lighter, less complicated and requires less maintenance.