Stacker-Reclaimer Automation

Lifting your stockyard operations to the next level

The combination of our mechanical know-how and operating experience with state-of-the-art sensor technology can fully exhaust the potential of your assets. From smaller process improvements or assistance modules to fully autonomous reclaimers, we offer our customers a wide range of intelligent stockyard system solutions.

Benefits from Stacker/Reclaimer Automation & Digitalization

thyssenkrupp cone crusher for high performance and easy operations

Performance Increase

Operational safety improvement and risk reduction

Lowering Operational Costs

Sensor based intelligent stockyard automation for productivity growth & optimizing machine lifetime

Our digitalized expertise approach

We incorporate the knowledge of our very best engineers and process experts into our automation & data analytics algorithms. To achieve that, thyssenkrupp has built up a dedicated data science and automation team which uses state of the art technology for raising the bar in digitalizing mining & material handling machines.

This enables our customers to run their machines at the optimal productivity rates and under highest safety standards.

Drone Inspection, Analytics

Our Digital and Automation Solutions for Stacker/Reclaimers

Slew bearings of all kinds of machines are subject to constant but uneven wear. The traditional method to measure that wear is to measure the gap between the upper and lower bearing race at specific points manually. This requires the machine to stop which causes regular downtimes.

Our solution

The thyssenkrupp Slew Bearing Wear Measurement System uses two probes with an accuracy of 10 μm below the main and counterweight boom to measure the distance between the upper and lower bearing races constantly. The difference between the initial, calibrated values and the actual values reflects the amount of wear within the given time period. Even though the system measures the distance constantly, it is recommended to use the automatic slew movement to measure the wear in an even more precise and comparable manner.

Our Plug and Play design

The monitoring system has been designed as a plug and play solution that can easily be retrofitted to existing machines, regardless of theirtechnical infrastructure & condition.

Your benefits

  • Less downtime due to maintenance and inspection
  • Less manual maintenance work required
  • High precision measurement at all slew angles
  • Machine performance insights
  • Data input for predictive maintenance

With the help of various sensor technologies we add an additional layer of safety to stockyard machines. By measuring the exact orientation of the machine and its surroundings, the machine can be operated in its predefined safety zones without risking collisions with any kind of obstacles or triggering existing safety systems. These include:

Machine-to-Machine CAS

If multiple machines are operated simultaneously at the stockyard our system actively prevents collisions, recalculates and adapts collision free movement paths for all affected machines

Machine-to-stockpile or fixed objects CAS

The system triggers an alarm when objects penetrate the scanning area of the 360° radar sensor within the predefined safety zones and initiates actions like a full stop or adaption of movement paths

Machine-to-person or vehicles CAS

Person or vehicles can be equipped with a tag based positioning system that shares the positional information with the machines automation controller. The machine automation system can be customized to come to a full stop when objects come too close to the machine.

Your added value

  • Operational safety improvement & risk reduction
  • Requirement for full automation
  • Lower work load for operators in manual mode
  • Less machine stress through avoiding the triggering of rip cords

Sweeping 360° Radar sensors mounted at the front of the machine in combination with the precise positional information of the machine create a detailed 3D representation of the stockpile while stacking.

The 3D data can be used for:

  • A Stockyard management system which holds material information about the whole stockyard
  • Optimization of the stacking process: As an assistance tool for the operator or as a requirement for the full automation of the machine
  • Calculation of the first cut point, bench height, angle of repose and many other measures

Your added value

  • Transparency on stockyard contents
  • Requirement and input for a stockyard management system
  • Requirement for the full automation of the machine
  • Optimized space utilization & material mixing while stacking

Operating a bucket wheel reclaimer at optimal slew speed can be quite a challenge. For example, wrong slew speeds lead to an overspill or underutilization of buckets. The reason can be limited visibility from the operator cabin or semi automatic slew speed control modes that are based on inefficient control loops. Traditional control loops are based on the bucket wheel torque, a belt scale or model based calculations.

Our optimized slew speed control loop uses data from radar sensors that scan the piles surface on both sides of the bucket wheel. It is able to predict the cutting volume of the to be reclaimed material.

  • The slew speed and cutting depth of the bucket wheel can be adjusted accordingly. This way an optimal reclaim rate is achievable even for complex pile shapes.

This feature is available for manually operated machines, semi automatic machines and fully automatic machines.

Additionally to the Cut Volume Prediction we can install a conveyor belt volume flow scanner close to the bucket wheel to further increase the efficiency of the control loop.

Your added value

  • Operate your machine at optimal reclaiming rate
  • Avoid overspill of buckets = high torque events
  • Avoid underutilization of buckets = lost productivity

By combining collision avoidance and 3D pile scanning with our advanced full automation controller a Bucket Wheel Stacker Reclaimer machine can be fully automated. In this case the stockyard management system acts as the work task input tool

Full Automation Features:

  • Moving to optimal first reclaiming / stacking point based on 3D stockpile data
  • Machine positioning in all axis + customized movements (e.g. for maintenance)
  • Various reclaiming and stacking methods configurable
  • Collision Avoidance
  • Performance optimized slew speed control & automated slew turn around control

Works best with intelligent Stockyard Management Software

  • 3D volume measurement of piles gives you insights on your stockyards at any given time
  • Intelligent stockyard management for efficient utilization of available space and inventorying of material
  • Supplying the correct material, in the right amounts, on time, automatically

Your added value

  • Improved productivity
  • Lower workload and operational cost
  • Operational safety improvement & risk reduction
  • Avoidance of peak loads – increase of machine lifetime

Related Products & Services

Transfer Point Alignment
Digital Twin for Belt Conveyors
Conveyor Volume Flow Control
Smart Stockyard and Port Solutions
Maintenance Assistance System