Zenith plate lips currently come in standard, long and heavy-duty options to suit all application requirements. Image: Bradken
Bradken has expanded its GET range to include Zenith plate lip GET to further support Australia’s mining sector.
Given the often-harsh conditions of the Australian resources industry, it is critical that mining companies select the right ground engaging tools (GET) for their operation.
Premium GET solutions extend machinery wear life and lessen the risk of equipment failure, minimising costly downtime. The right GET tooling also delivers reduced dig energy and improved penetration.
That is why Bradken has continually advanced its own GET solutions, ensuring customers always have the right option at hand. This includes the Zenith series, the latest addition to Bradken’s GET range suited to 100–250-tonne hydraulic excavators.
Bradken GET principal product manager Glenn Baxter explained the evolution of the company’s products.
“Bradken’s GET range has evolved from being regionally based with a suite of first-generation products, to now being more globally focused with a second and third generation of innovative products, all backed by a global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in Hitachi Construction Machinery,” Baxter told Australian Mining.
“The Zenith technology is Bradken’s next generation of plate lip GET products, so it’s one of the latest solutions in the Bradken GET range.”
As Bradken developed an improved GET solution for higher tonnage hydraulic excavators, the company had several research and development (R&D) objectives.
“In the development of the Zenith range, we had a focus on creating an efficient tooth system from a machine performance and maintenance perspective,” Baxter said.
“We wanted to minimise the size of the tooth (without compromising strength) so the machine uses less power during each cycle, and simplify the locking system so it’s intuitive to use and easy to maintain when required.”
Image: Bradken
The Zenith locking system requires only 180° of rotation to be actuated, with the locking pin pre-installed in the point, which is another simplifying aspect of the range.
Other key benefits of the unique design is the reduction in change-out time and improved safety with the truly hammer-free pin and dedicated point removal tool enabling a safer removal process. Together these improve the ease of use and enable greater diversity in the workforce.
The Zenith points currently come in standard, long and heavy-duty options to suit all application requirements. And they can be used to extract any commodity, including copper, gold, coal or iron ore.
Baxter said operators have resonated with the intuitiveness of the range with simple installation and removal, along with the flat contact surfaces between the point and the nose enabling easy rebuilds if required.
“Maintenance teams will often have a list of tasks to complete on a shift, and when they come to changing their Zenith GET, because of its simplicity, personnel can easily make their tooth changes without having to constantly refer to the instruction manual,” he said.
“GET can be replaced in a consistent short timeframe, meaning maintenance personnel can plan and spend more time on other tasks that might be of a higher priority.”
A product comparison demonstrated the efficiency of the Zenith range, with teeth able to be replaced in one minute each, whereas a generation-one tooth took on average 11 minutes to replace.
“When changes are made to six teeth, operators can save a lot of time on maintenance and spend more time in production,” Baxter said.
“Our R&D teams conducted numerous simulations during the design phases and when compared to our generation-one system, the Zenith teeth penetrated material using up to five per cent less power, which is a significant advantage over the long run.”
The Zenith range also has on average an 11 per cent longer wear life than Bradken’s first generation system, based on recent infield performances.
Bradken understands that not only can it supply customers cost-effective and reliable solutions such as its Zenith GET range, but it can also bring together solutions from other product lines to provide a holistic offering.
“We’ll continue to expand the Zenith range as part of this new generation of plate lip products,” Baxter said.
“More broadly, Bradken is combining the recent structural development work undertaken on our mining excavator buckets – including the addition of a cast upper structure – with our GET solutions on the front of the bucket.
“Our design team specifies the right sizes for the operating conditions, and by using machine parameters we can take a more holistic approach, rather than just provide the GET solution alone.”
Baxter said Bradken’s digital portfolio is also advancing.
“The advancement of our tailored condition-monitoring solutions, where we can track the performance and wear of the GET in real-time, demonstrates that there is some pretty exciting R&D occurring at Bradken,” he said.
“And through all our innovations, Bradken is fortunate enough to be backed by a Tier 1 OEM in Hitachi Construction Machinery, who support our product development and the speed with which we can innovate.”
This feature appeared in the August 2024 issue of Australian Mining.