Electric shovel
Encyclopedia
Design
Shovels normally consist of a revolving deck with a power plant, driving and controlling mechanisms, usually a counterweight, and a front attachment, such as a boom or crane which supports a handle with a digger at the end. The machinery is mounted on a base platform with tracks or wheels. The bucket is also known as the dipper. Modern bucket capacities range from 8 m3 to nearly 80 m3.Use
Power shovels are used principally for excavation and removal of overburdenOverburden
Overburden is the material that lies above an area of economic or scientific interest in mining and archaeology; most commonly the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. It is also known as 'waste' or 'spoil'...
in open-cut mining operations, though it may include loading of minerals, such as coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. They are the modern equivalent of steam shovel
Steam shovel
A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...
s, and operate in a similar fashion.
Operation
The shovel operates using several main motions:- hoist - pulling the bucket up through the bank (i.e. the bank of material being dug)
- crowd - moving the dipper handle out or in to control the depth of cut and when positioning to dump
- swing - rotating the shovel between digging and dumping
- propel - moving the shovel unit to different locations or dig positions
A shovel's work cycle, or digging cycle, consists of four phases:
- digging
- swinging
- dumping
- returning
The digging phase consists of crowding the dipper into the bank, hoisting the dipper to fill it, then retracting the full dipper from the bank. The swinging phase occurs once the dipper is clear of the bank both vertically and horizontally. The operator controls the dipper through a planned swing path and dump height until it is suitably positioned over the haul unit (e.g. truck). Dumping involves opening the dipper door to dump the load, while maintaining the correct dump height. Returning is when the dipper swings back to the bank, and involves lowering the dipper into the tuck position to close the dipper door.
Notable Examples
| Ranking | Bucket Capacity (m3/yd3) |
Operating weight (tons) |
Type | Name | Service | Scrapped |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 138/180 | 15,000 | Marion 6360 Marion 6360 Marion 6360, also known as The Captain, was a giant power shovel built by the Marion Power Shovel company. Completed in 1965, it was the heaviest land vehicle ever built. The shovel originally started work with Southwestern Illinois Coal Corporation, but the owners were soon bought out by Arch Coal... |
The Captain | 1965 | 1992 | |
| 107/140 | 9,350 | Bucyrus Erie 3850B | River King | 1964 | 1993 | |
| 99/130 | 6,850 | Bucyrus Erie 1950B | GEM of Egypt | 1967 | 1991 | |
| 96/125 | 9,338 | Marion 5960 | Big Digger | 1969 | 1989 | |
| 88/115 | 6,950 | Bucyrus Erie 3850B | The Big Hog | 1962 | 1985 (Accident) | |
| 80/105 | 7,200 | Bucyrus Erie 1950B | The Silver Spade The Silver Spade 350px|thumb|Bucket and cab of The Silver Spade at Harrison Coal and Reclamation Park on [[Ohio State Route 519|Stumptown Road]]The Silver Spade was a giant excavator used for strip mining in southeastern Ohio. Manufactured by Bucyrus-Erie, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the model 1950-B was one of two... |
1965 | 2007 | |
| 69/90 | 5,220 | Bucyrus-Erie 1850-B | Big Brutus Big Brutus Big Brutus is the nickname of the Bucyrus-Erie model 1850B electric shovel, which was the second largest of its type in operation in the 1960s and 1970s. It is currently the centerpiece of a mining museum in West Mineral, Kansas.-Description:... |
1962 | Preserved as a National Landmark |
|
| 50/65 | 2,750 | Marion 5760 | Mountaineer | 1956 | 1989 |
See also
- P&H MiningP&H MiningP&H Mining Equipment designs, builds and supports a line of drilling and material handling machinery marketed under the "P&H" trademark and applied to minerals and energy surface mining operations worldwide. The firm is an operating subsidiary of Joy Global Inc.- Parent Company Overview :Joy...
- Bucyrus InternationalBucyrus InternationalBucyrus International, Inc. , was an American surface and underground mining equipment company. Founded as Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1880, Bucyrus moved company headquarters to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1893. In its early history, Bucyrus produced steam...
- Dragline
- ExcavatorExcavatorExcavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
- Marion Power ShovelMarion Power ShovelMarion Power Shovel Company designed, manufactured and sold steam shovels, excavators and dragline excavators for use in the construction and mining industries....
- Steam shovelSteam shovelA steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...