APT Dredging Solutions has designed and constructed a customized Ladder plus Underwater Cutting Wheel combination for Rohr-Idreco.
On the 5th of November, Rohr-Idreco successfully launched the electrical dredger.
APT Dredging Solutions designed and constructed the ladder plus Underwater Cutting Wheel (UCW), which will be used by the South American gold mining company.
To increase throughput, the mining company required a new tool and a more efficient way of mining.
The integration of the UCW and the ladder into the Rohr-Idreco dredger was done in close cooperation between the project management and engineering teams.
During the design process of the cutting wheel, Senior Engineer, Barend de Wijn , noticed a compelling opportunity: “Conventional designs use electric motors and heavy gearboxes to drive the wheel, this new design has a direct drive from a hydraulic motor giving it a lighter, more reliable result”.
With a wheel diameter of 2.5 meters, the specification of the UCW is impressive, said the company. Furthermore, the cutting knives of the wheel are fabricated from a wear resistant material resulting in reduced downtime. Provided with a 36 meter ladder, the UCW is able to mine at depths of up to 28 meters.
In order to maximize competitiveness, APT devised a way to do this as timely and as cost efficient as possible.
The ladder was divided into 3 sections and shipped by regular container transport from The UAE to Germany. On arrival it was aligned and welded together.
It underwent further quality checks before the final painting was applied. The whole transport took APT under 5 weeks; from their location in the UAE until the arrival at the yard in Wesel, Germany.