BUCYRUS has introduced the Rotary Bit Change Carousel and Forked Pipe Wrench which can be used on its 49 Series Rotary Blasthole Drills.
The Rotary Bit Change Carousel and Forked Pipe Wrench have been designed to eliminate the safety risks and lost production time associated with these operations through automation.
Bucyrus says that the Auto Bit Change Carousel allows up to 4 drill bit changes to be conducted remotely from the operator’s cab. This reduces the typical change-out time of 60 minutes to 10 minutes.
In addition, the Auto Bit Change Carousel eliminates seven safety lifting hazards, and avoids the need for drill operators to work under a suspended load.
The Forked Pipe Wrench is designed to simplify pipe unthreading during the drill bit change-out process.
The Bucyrus 49 Series Drill improvements are available for both new drills, and as a retrofit on existing drills.