Mechanical Technology November-December 2016

⎪ Materials handling and minerals processing ⎪

Gravico venture “The Gravico portfolio of products and services gives DCD a valuable op- portunity to demonstrate our depth of skill and technical capacity – and also to showcase South Africa’s foundry and machining sector to global markets,” he says. “Partnerships like this are part of our strategic plan to secure ourselves a firm place in the global mining economy as a vibrant, forward-looking business with both engineering design and manu- facturing world class expertise.”

Ducting for power generation plant leaving DCD Heavy Engineering’s Vereeniging site.

The cooperation began in 2013 when DCD Venco became the manufacturing partner for Southwest’s Gravico range in Africa. Based in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, Southwest specialises in the engineering and development of a wide range of products around the world.

These include backload and front-shovel buckets in capacities from 7.0 m 3 to 52 m 3 , dragline buckets (30-105 m 3 ), dump truck bowls (80-360 tons) and dragline rigging.

Gravico’s aftermarket products in- clude machine structures such as excava- tor booms, sticks and axle boxes, as well as components such as bushes, pins and ground engaging tools. q

Gravico lightweight bodies for Namibian mine T he first of 12 lightweight bodies for its Komatsu 785-5 mining trucks has been delivered to a mining contractor at a mine in Namibia by Vereeniging-based engineering company Gravico. and operating costs by investing heavily in research on materials, conditions and cus- tomer feedback on our applications – and integrating the results in our truck body designs,” adds Kriel.

design, creating value for our customers through defining a balance between pay- load and service life,” he continues. “This led to a body design that resists impact and wear while remaining as light as pos- sible, based on the continuous box frame structure that we have patented.” High-quality manufacturing is also a hallmark of the Gravico brand, with a simplified, easy-to-assemble process and a reduction in welding that allows short production cycles. “And the manufacturing process is monitored and documented at all stages for excellent traceability,” concludes Kriel. q

According to Gravico managing direc- tor, Louw Kriel, the purpose-designed Komatsu 785-5 mining trucks bodies recently supplied into Namibia are part of an R18-million contract. “Our customers are moving away from heavy-duty OEM truck bodies towards lightweight, payload- focused bodies,” says Kriel. “The Gravico 70 m³ body for this application therefore comes with a weight reduction of 35% and a payload increase of 13%, making it a more productive option for hauling on mining operations.” He said OEM bodies are designed for multiple applications and material densi- ties, therefore vehicles would sometimes not reach their payload targets. “Our philosophy is that truck bodies need to be specific to the purpose and operation, so our designs are differenti- ated from OEM truck bodies to address our customers’ specific production needs, while maintaining or improving upon the bodies’ structural integrity, reliability and durability,” he says. Gravico is a joint venture between the Southwest Group of the Netherlands, and the South Africa-based DCD Group – one of the country’s most established special- ist manufacturers. The venture focuses on the design and production of aftermarket products for surface mining equipment. “We emphasise the reduction of owning

The design element of lightweight bodies is vital to their success in the field as they can be more susceptible to fatigue failure. The Gravico body concept has, therefore, been developed from conceptual test mod- els and makes extensive use of computer simulation software to refine and optimise the products’ geometry, mass and structural integrity. “We follow a systems approach in our

One of the lightweight Komatsu mining truck bodies on its way to Namibia. Vereeniging-based engineering company Gravico, a joint venture between the Southwest Group and the DCD Group, has an order for 12 of these as part of an R18-million contract.

Mechanical Technology — November-December 2016

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