The WIRTGEN Hands-On Guide to Cold Milling This application handbook for cold milling machines provides planners, operators, supervisors, and anyone else interested in the subject with extensive insights into the world of cold milling machines and serves as a handy reference and guide for day-to-day operations thanks to the numerous case studies and application examples it contains. During the job, both machines used the Level Pro leveling system developed by Wirtgen. According to Anrak’s CEO Tom Schmidt, this is a perfect symbiosis: “We’ve used almost every machine under the sun, but none can compete with the Wirtgen milling machine together with the Level Pro system. It is both reliable and extremely precise.

Wirtgen surface miners play a key role in increasing production and reducing costs in material extraction for a large cement plant in Ukraine.

Wirtgen Level Pro Instruction Manual Instruction

PJSC Ivano-Frankivskcement (IFCEM) produces clinker and 300 other cement and gypsum products. The raw material for the cement plant comes from a deposit located 15 km to the north. The Carpathian mining area is rich in sedimentary rocks such as limestone, marl and gypsum.

Production increase thanks to Wirtgen technologies

For years, the material was extracted by drilling and blasting and then wet-processed into clinker in the cement plant. In a move to increase productivity and reduce costs, IFCEM became the first cement plant in the Ukraine to initiate the transition from the wet to the dry process, a measure which was accompanied by an optimisation of the mining method for material supply.

The dry process is now considered the preferred method for clinker production as it reduces fuel consumption per ton of material. This in turn has a positive effect on production, costs and the environment. For an optimal drying process, the material from the quarry should only have a low moisture content so that it can be crushed in a dry crusher, ground to powder in the raw mill and burnt in the rotary kiln without further pre-treatment.

Optimum exploitation of deposits, better raw material

In order to ensure that the material extracted from the quarry is as dry as possible, a radical change in the mining method was necessary. Meanwhile, the previous use of explosives for limestone mining was having a detrimental effect on neighboring residential areas due to the noise generated and the ground vibrations. IFCEM found the solution in Wirtgen surface miner technology: In 2012, the company purchased a 2200 SM, in 2015 a second, identical model and in 2017 a 2500 SM.

By gradually phasing out the drilling and blasting operations, the surface miners progressively reduced the time and cost involved in pre-crushing and post-crushing the material and also made it possible to redesign the deposit. By ensuring a defined slope of the surface with the aid of the Level Pro automatic leveling system, the surface miners created the conditions for efficient dewatering.

Compared to drilling and blasting, this allows much drier raw material to be mined and the material can enter the plant's drying process without any further treatment. Thanks to the redesign of the mining area with the surface miner, the exploitation of the deposits has also been increased, because now even previously unused areas can be worked and additional material extracted.

Economical and reliable surface miner trio

The increased mining volume thus also had a major influence on the selection of the third machine model. After the impressive results of the smallest Wirtgen surface miner 2200 SM with a 2.2 m cutting drum and a cutting depth of up to 300 mm, the technical management of Ivano-Frankivskcement now opted for the even more powerful model, the 2500 SM.

Together, the three Wirtgen surface miners generate a daily output of 7000 t, which also leads to optimum utilization of the cement plant. The 2500 SM has made an important contribution to this, as well as to increasing production in the limestone quarries, where the material has a uniaxial compressive strength of between 20 - 70 MPa depending on its depth. The 2500 SM, which has already clocked more than 4500 hours, is equipped with a 2.5 m wide cutting drum fitted with cutting tools on an HT 15 quick-change tool-holder system. HT 15 reduces the time required to replace the tool-holder from 90 min. to 15 min. compared to conventional welded tool-holder systems.

The 2500 SM, which can remove material up to 650 mm deep, extracts the material in Ivano-Frankivsk up to a depth of 40 - 45 cm. Depending on the rock hardness, the surface miner achieves a feed rate of 5 m/min. and a grain size of 0 - 100 mm. Depending on the hardness of the rock, the entire tooling is replaced at intervals that vary between 200 - 500 hours based on the machine's field of application.

2500 SM: performance and precision count

Since its market launch, the 2500 SM has proven its performance and flexibility worldwide, as it can be used for the selective mining of raw materials with uniaxial compressive strength up to 80 MPa and in special cases even higher. The surface miner cuts, crushes and loads the rock in a single operation. Depending on the application, the material can either be loaded directly into trucks via the 11.3 m long, slewing discharge conveyor of the miner, deposited laterally or as a windrow between the machine's crawler tracks. The 2500 SM is powered by a 783 kW (1065 hp) engine and features precise mining of the useful minerals thanks to the Level Pro leveling system integrated into the machine's control system.

The operator sits in a spacious, sound- and dustproof, air-conditioned cabin. A video system with several cameras gives the operator a complete overview during the extraction process, ensuring maximum safety. Machine operator Svyatoslav Podolyak, who together with Voladymyr Sauchut has been driving the 2500 SM since last year, sums up the advantages: 'This surface miner has an excellent production rate, which is even higher than that of the 2200 SM. And that was already very good. Thanks to the clearly arranged instruments, I have all important information at a glance. The soundproofed and air-conditioned cabin also gives me an optimal view of the cutting edge and allows me to concentrate on my work in the cold winters and hot summers typical of this region.”

Surface miners get on track for an efficient production cycle

According to Yaroslav Nesterovych Voznyak, Technical Manager of the deposit, the surface miners, especially the 2500 SM, have had a positive influence on the production cycle in the quarry and thus also in the cement plant: 'The purchase of the Wirtgen surface miners made the transition from drilling and blasting to a safe mining process easy to implement. In addition to the environmental and production benefits, the surface miners have proven to be the best solution, especially in terms of cost efficiency and economical operation. The grain size of the material produced is ideal for the cement plant. This is why our fleet of surface miners will grow. We are already preparing a further mining area with a volume of around 180 million t of material, which we want to mine with our Wirtgen surface miners.'

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/17102018/wirtgen-surface-miners-offer-limestone-mining-without-drilling-and-blasting/

Laser levels are very complicated as these are used for complex jobs, in order to improve the accuracy as well as to save the time we’ve created this laser level manual for you. To use a certain type of laser level, there are some important instructions that one must know and follow. One cannot simply purchase the laser level, switch it on and start the work without knowing how to even start and use it. Before using a laser level, the setup of the laser level is very important, only then one can start the work. Here are some of the basic instructions for using a standard laser level as well the more advanced type of laser level, which is the rotary laser level;

1. Installing Batteries

Either a simple laser level or a rotary laser level, the first thing that one needs to do is, installing the batteries. For removal or installation of batteries, look for the battery housing in the device. Mostly the housing door is attached by screws, whereas there are some laser level devices in which the battery housing is designed easy-to-open. In case the cover is screwed, one can use a coin or a universal key for turning the screws anti-clockwise, open the cover, and then the batteries can be installed. One must always check the inside of the battery housing for the positive and negative diagram and place the batteries according to the indications. If the batteries are put in other way, then the laser level will not work. Don’t forget to screw back the cover.

2. Battery Recharging

An AC/DC converter charger is always provided along with the laser label device. The charger needs to be plugged in the device’s plug hole and then the other end can be plugged to electrical outlet. The batteries of the laser level must be charged over night after every two or three days, but in case the laser level is used for longer time or in a cold area, then the charging should be done more often. It is recommended to use only the charger that comes with the device, if one wants the laser level to last long. One should never try to recharge the alkaline batteries as this might damage the protection fuse of the battery housing of the level.

3. Setting Up The Laser Level

Proper setup of the laser level is very important. First of all, one must decide where to do the setup and where to mount the laser level. One can mount the laser level to a pillar, wall or fix it to a tripod. If a tripod is to be used, the tripod should be set at the required height and the base of the laser level has to be screwed to the tripod. One must make sure that the legs of the tripod are set wide enough; else the tripod with laser level along might fall, causing damage to the device. The mounting and the setup should be done properly if accurate result is desired.

After these three basic steps that are common for a simple laser level as well as rotary laser level, the rest of the instructions differ for both type of laser levels, as a rotary laser level is more complex and complicated to use;

For Simple Laser Level

1. Leveling The Laser

After the setup when the device is turned on, the out-of-level LED will flash (if the laser level has this feature) and it is for sure that laser needs to be leveled. For leveling the laser of the laser level device, the following steps should be followed;

• Check for the x-axis and y-axis screws along with the bull’s eye.
• When the screws are found, turn the x-axis screws opposite to each other in equal amount in such a way that the bull’s eye gets at the center of the ends of the indication arrows representing the x-axis screws. The end of the arrow is also called bubble.
• Then adjust the y-axis screw and let the bubble of the y-axis screw be straight to the center of the bull’s eye. The out-of-level LED flash will stop when the level gets accurate.

2. Checking And Adjusting Calibration

For checking calibration of the laser level, one should have a tripod and the device must be set properly to the tripod. The following steps must be followed;

• Place the unit 100 ft or 30 m far from the wall.
• Switch the laser level on and mark the point where the beam is pointing.
• Turn the laser level 180 degree and again mark the point where the laser beams points.
• Measure the difference between the two marked points. If the distance exceeds 3 mm then calibration is required to be adjusted.
• For adjusting calibration, take the laser level to the midpoint of the difference of the earlier two points and mark another point.
• Take a small nail and adjust the screws. For this one can take someone’s help in order to save time.

Once the leveling and adjustments are done, the alignment and leveling work can be started. If the laser level has dual beam feature, then both the beams can be used.

For Rotary Laser Level Or More Advanced Laser Level

Rotary laser levels are mostly automatic and self-leveling, but there are many features in the rotary laser levels that need manual adjustments;

1. Automatic Mode Activation For Horizontal Plane

For the automatic mode, one needs to switch the device on and then unlit the manual indication. The rotary laser level must be set at the range from -5° to +5°. Give the device few seconds to adjust the laser to set the leveling. After the laser has adjusted itself, the work can be started.

2. Manual Adjustment For Inclined Plane

For inclined plane leveling and manual adjustment, set the laser at the range of -5° to +5° from the horizontal plane and turn on the rotary laser level, then switch the manual button on. When the rotary laser level gets to the manual mode, adjust the x-axis and y-axis button until the out-of-level LED flash stops blinking. When it is done, the rotary laser level is ready for the work for inclined plane leveling purpose.

3. Manual Vertical Set Up

The rotary laser level can be set up vertically if required for vertical alignments. To set up the rotary laser level one should place the device on its side instead of its base and the device must be placed on a firm surface. The laser must be set up at the range of -5° to +5° from the inclined plane. If the out-of-level LED flashes, then the level buttons must be adjusted.

4. Plum Up And Down Manual Adjustment

For plumb up and plumb down, it is best to set the rotary laser level on a tripod. a plumb feature is used to centre a selected point up or down. For plumb down, the following steps must be followed;

• Place the rotary laser level on the tripod just like for horizontal setup.
• Place the tripod on top of the selected point on the floor and adjust it until the plum down laser beam accurately points at the mark.
• When the point is accurate, turn on the plumb up laser beam and mark the same point at the ceiling.
• The same step can be done for plumb up.

Wirtgen Level Pro Instruction Manual User

5. Calibration Test

Horizontal plane calibration test is same as that of the simple laser level. One more test can be conducted for more accuracy, which is the horizontal line calibration test. This can be done in the following steps;

• Set the rotary laser level on a tripod, and then put it between two walls or staffs that are 100 ft apart from each other.
• Place the unit 1.5 ft away from the first wall, point the laser beam towards the second wall and turn on the plumb up and down beams, pointing towards both the walls. Measure the distances and mark the points as h1 and h2 respectively.
• Repeat the same method but this time switch the position and mark the distance h1′ and h2′
• Now calculate, ∆1= h1-h1′
• ∆2= h2-h2′
• The difference between ∆1 and ∆2 should not be more than 6mm.if it is more, then calibration must be adjusted.

6. Changing Rotation

If necessary, the rotation of the rotary laser level can also be decreased by pressing the speed button. For more visibility of the laser beam, the rotation speed might be required to slow down.

Laser Level Manual Conclusion

Using a laser level is a little complicated, but once all the settings and adjustments are done, the device is ready to be used for the work, which is simple as only markings are required or sometimes the work can be done directly if one feels too lazy to mark. Here are some of the safety measures that one should follow while using a laser level;

• Never look straight to the laser beam with naked eyes. It is always best to use protective eye glasses.
• The laser level must not be set up at head level or near any reflective surface as this can lead the laser beam to reflect straight to the eyes of the people nearby.
• One must never remove any warning label.
• The device must be always placed in its case after use and the case should be stored in a cool and dry place.

One must know the basics of the laser level and if not experienced, the manual instructions must be read thoroughly, as the misuse of the laser level might lead to hazardous consequences.