Engineering strength and safety focus
DT HiLoad specialises in the design and manufacture of dump truck bodies and mining buckets for the resources sector, but beyond buckets and bodies, the company can cater for a range of engineering requirements.
General manager Glenn Brearey said the company knows the importance of safety in product design.
“One of our strengths is our ability to custom manufacture our product to suit the specific mine requirements,” Mr Brearey said.
“It’s not a one size fits all – we understand that,” he said.
“Innovation is at our core and safety is a priority.
“We use our engineering skills to make sure that our products are manufactured to the highest standards, are site-specific, and also adaptable the varying safety regulations.”
The company’s engineering capabilities include using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software to analyse how the products will react in real world forces.
In addition, DT HiLoad also use Discrete Element Method (DEM) to determine the behaviour of geomaterials such as iron ore and coal.
This method is used to analyse the flow behaviour and related wear characteristics
Engineering manager Tom Smith said the engineering team frequently noticed areas where safety improvement could be made, including in kits for wear management.
“As bodies wear from the repeated dumping of product you need to install a wear solution to ensure that the tray thickness is maintained.” Mr Smith said.
“Often this would be plate liners which are heavy steel plates which often need rolling or bending, which leads to all sorts of issues with manual handling and stored energy risks.
“Our solution to this is our patented Hex Tile technology as wear protection which dramatically increases safety on site.
“They are up to 60pc lighter than traditional steel plate liners when installed.”
There’s also no chance of stored energy issues.
Often wear plates have potential energy or residual energy when they are welded or forced down, so when those welds are cut the plates can potentially spring back which is a real risk to the maintenance teams working on the tray.
“The hex tiles are smaller, they basically sit in the palm of your hand,” Mr Smith said,
“That’s just one example of how we engineer safe and efficient product designs – it’s at the heart of what we do.”
Mr Brearey said that being part of the wider Schlam Group played a positive influence into the design and engineering component of our payload solutions.
“We are in a unique position, where we as part of the Schlam Group are involved in the whole life cycle of the asset from design, manufacture, installation, maintenance, removal and refurbishment,” Mr Brearey said.
“The learnings from our groups’ exposure goes back into product development of the payload solutions that we manufacture.
“There are not many businesses that have this unique exposure to capitalise on.
“The Schlam Group will continue to position itself as a market leader in all things payload and provide engineering, manufacturing, refurbishment and site service solutions to our clients.
“What we offer to our clients is more than just a product, it is an ongoing partnership,” Mr Brearey said.
For more information on DT HiLoad’s payload solution capabilities visit: www.dthiload.com.