HYDAC comes up with a customised mobile filtration solution to assist a mining company keep its difficult-to-access hydraulic and lubrication systems clean.
A leading global mining company reported difficulty maintaining the health of its many key assets due to the “difficult to access” locations –often at great heights – of their related hydraulic systems.
The sheer amount of dirt in the environment and its associated ingress resulted in high contamination levels and premature failure of equipment, HYDAC Motion and Control Engineer David Burns points out.
“The problem was obvious: targeted fluid cleanliness levels were not being achieved or maintained. Additional filtration for the purpose of oil transfer and/or clean-up was an urgent and ongoing requirement,” he says.
“As you can imagine, transporting additional filtration units against restrictive occupational health and safety compliance meant that many of the traditional filter systems currently available in the market were not suitable.”
Project Objectives
The required solution was an offline filtration system with a portable and ergonomic design suitable for a single employee to safely carry by themselves.
“The company in question’s key criteria was a unit with a weight less than 20kg that would not compromise on the quality of filtration performance,” Mr Burns highlights.
HYDAC Solution
HYDAC reviewed the situation and noted that access to the company’s many hydraulic systems required scaling multiple flights of narrow safety stairs. It also noted that mechanical lifts with cranes would be time consuming and expensive, and therefore not a feasible option for routine maintenance.
HYDAC’s bespoke designed MFU filter series was an obvious fit for purpose solution, Mr Burns underscores.
At the request of the customer the MFUs were custom painted and colour-coded to match the range of lubrication oils used on-site.
Results
Mine site occupational health and safety compliance, which limits an employee’s carrying capacity to 20kg, was fulfilled with the MFU’s compact and lightweight design and maximum unit weight of 14-17kg.
“HYDAC’s solution resulted in a significant improvement in contamination levels across all assets that use the MFUs,” Mr Burns concludes.
“Introduction and use of the MFUs has now been extended to a further five mine sites operated by the customer in the region. Successful implementation of the MFU units in application has resulted in associated industry sector recognition, with additional mining operators adopting and replicating the unit’s integration and predicative maintenance best practice across their related asset reliability programs.”
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