Innovation comes full circle

Back in September 2016, at the MineExpo show in Las Vegas, Kal Tire unveiled a simple prototype version of a mechanical tool that would safely and weightlessly manoeuvre the 60-pound torque guns used to fasten lug nuts on earthmover tyres.

“The response was incredible,” recalls Pedro Pacheco, vice president Latin America operations, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group. He’s also responsible for tyre management innovation across the company. “People wanted to move it and take photos and ask questions. And that was just a concept design to show what the possibility for this tool could be.”

One year later, Kal Tire’s patented, nextgeneration version of what’s now called the Gravity Assist System is being presented at Asia-Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) in Australia.

It’s two times the size and four times the weight of the prototype, and now it’s capable of performing its intended job in the field. Instead of fastening nearly 70 lug nuts by holding an enormous torque gun, the Gravity Assist System acts like a mechanical arm to hold and swivel the torque gun almost as a weightless extension of a technician’s body.

“Now, the torque gun floats,” says Peter Nilsson, innovation, research and development manager, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group. He’s looking forward to showcasing the Gravity Assist System for the first time, demonstrating for Australia’s mining insiders how this 100 per cent mechanical tool can change the way earthmover tyre technicians do their job. It eliminates pinched fingers, muscle strain and repetitive task muscle disorders as well as fatigue, thereby improving efficiency, precision and safety.

“In mining, injuries and incidents often come from operating torque tools, so the focus for us was, how can we do this operation more safely to reduce injuries and make it easier for these guys to do their job?” says Nilsson, who got the idea for the Gravity Assist System shortly after joining Kal Tire and was amazed by how heavy, bulky and difficult the torque guns were. “I thought, there must be a better way to operate and handle these torque tools. We need to create something to support them, and make this operation safer and improve performance.”

The Gravity Assist System was developed out of the Mining Tire Group’s Innovation Centre in Canada just like a handful of other tools designed and engineered there to improve safety and productivity on mine sites.

Productivity Tools

Kal Tire’s Service Trolley gives tyre technicians a remote-controlled hydraulic pump to operate multiple hydraulic rams and bead breakers. Now, remote control in hand, team members can simply stand a safe distance away. A second electrical version is also on its way to a mine site in Chile for field-testing.

That same mine site is about to receive Kal Tire’s lock ring lifter and lock ring Spreader to help teams install and remove lock rings on off-the-road haul trucks. The Lock Ring Lifter supports the full weight of a lock ring, and changes in elevation mechanically to raise and lower the lock ring. It also has separate configurations—one for installing, one for removing. The Lock Ring Spreader allows team members to spread the lock ring to a specific distance so it can safely be installed or removed from the wheel. This prevents lock ring ends from shifting out of place and overlapping during spreading.

“Latin America has been very keen to participate in field tests—not just our teams but also our customers. There’s a real interest in and willingness toward innovation there,” says Pacheco, who has the same sense about Australia, where mine sites are using Kal Tire innovations like an exclusive, patented ram Mount tool that securely holds the ram in place with designs for CAT 797 and Komatsu 930. And, there is a tyre deflator tool that reduces the time it takes to deflate ultra-class tyres from 30 minutes to a mere 15 minutes.

“We’re very optimistic about the Australian market’s participation in innovation. This is one of the countries that’s pushing forward with safety and also mining operation standards, and now we have a stronger presence there, so Australia has a lot of opportunities.”

Kal Tire’s Innovation Centre has already received several ideas from team members around the world as part of the company’s process for developing new projects that will improve safety and performance.

“Through this independent innovation, we deliver productivity gains to our customers in ways our competitors can’t,” says Pacheco