Oil Analysis Saves $300,000 Mine Shovel Gear System

Brian Groff, an engineer for mine services provider Minserco, Inc., credits oil analysis with saving his company $300,000 to $400,000 in replacement costs on a gear system in one of it’s customers' largest shovels.

"We customized several advanced industrial gear system test slates to closely monitor any changes in the condition of the lubricant," Groff said. "By watching the ICP levels for iron, chromium, nickel and titanium in conjunction with Particle Quantifying and Analytical Ferrography, we were able to accurately identify a wear problem early enough to do something about it," Groff said.

Minserco, Inc., a repair and service subsidiary of Bucyrus, provides mining customers a single-source solution to their maintenance and service needs. The company's mine equipment rebuild services are specifically designed to extend the operating life of used equipment by 50-60,000 hours.

Last October, both ICP and PQ test results on the system showed a considerable spike in the unit's wear metal concentrations. The lubricant was changed and monthly sampling continued. When wear metals rose again this past January, Groff called for an Analytical Ferrograph which confirmed that large ferrous wear was occurring. The lubricant was changed again and when the system was re-sampled a week later, ICP iron values were almost non-existent while the PQ Index showed a significant amount of large ferrous particles. The larger particles were again confirmed by another Analytical Ferrograph and the decision was made to disassemble the unit and rebuild.

"We were able to rebuild the core," Groff said. "The difference between rebuilding it rather than running it to failure and replacing it was between $300,000 and $400,000. That’s a pretty good return on an investment of about $65 in oil analysis."

Groff said that oil analysis has been the basis for changing other maintenance practices at the mine as well, such as testing new lube deliveries for cleanliness and executing drain intervals based on lube condition rather a set schedule.

"Oil analysis has also taught us that new oil isn't always clean oil," Groff said. "In one particular situation, it helped us identify the right supplier so we are now buying cleaner oil with additive packages better suited to our application – and it's lasting longer. Once a new lube is in use, we monitor acid number, which has significantly reduced lube costs by maximizing drain intervals without compromising equipment performance."

For more information, visit www.bucyrus.com/Minserco/minserco.htm.

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