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Customer

OPERATIONAL WRITE-UP FOR

STACKER CUM RECLAIMER

PREPARED BY
NAME
DATE

APPROVED BY

REVISION
0

Document No.

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Customer

OPERATIONAL WRITE-UP FOR STACKER CUM RECLAIMER

1.1.0 General
The stacker cum reclaimer machine has been designed for working on manual as well
as automatic mode of operation. The operations are effected with the help of dedicated
programmable logic controller (PLC) provided on the machine in which all the interlocks
reference inputs safety limits and sequence of operation have been programmed. The
various movements of the machine can be properly understood from the following
descriptions.
The stacker cum reclaimer machine shall be operated in the following modes of
operation.
1. Local mode for maintenance purpose.
2. Manual de-inter lock mode for the positioning of the machine for stacking /
reclaiming operation.
3. Manual / Auto mode for stacking operation.
4. Manual / Auto mode for reclaiming operation.
For operating the machine in above modes the various control are provided on control
desk located in operators cabin.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Local / control desk selector switch.

Manual / Auto selector switch.
De-inter lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch.
Travel Drive Slow / Fast speed selector switch.(Travel drive slow speed can be
selected for stacking / reclaiming operation and Travel drive fast speed can be
selected for idle running)
Master controller for travel drive, boom slew drive and boom luffing operation.
Start / Stop push button for boom conveyor, intermediate conveyor and bucket
wheel.
Speed setting potentiometer for slew drive.
Thumb wheel switch for setting of travel distance in automatic mode of operation.

Similarly for operating the machine in local mode the various push buttons and controls
are provided on local control stations located near respective drive.
1.1.1 LOCAL MODE OF OPERATION
This mode of operation is provided for the purpose of testing and maintenance of
various drives under de-inter lock mode however with necessary safeties and
protections like overload, pull cord switch, Emergency stop push button etc of individual
drives shall be effective.
To operate the machine in this mode, the Local / Control desk selector switch provided
on Control desk located in operators cabin must be kept in Local position. Now the
start / stop operations of individual drives shall be carried out from the respective local
control station.

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1.1.2 MANUAL DE-INTER LOCK MODE OF OPERATION

This mode of operation is provided for positioning the machine for stacking / reclaiming
operation. To operate the machine in this mode the various selector switches shall be
kept in required position as follows :
1.
2.
3.
4.

Local / Control desk selector switch in Control Desk position.

Manual / Auto selector switch in Manual position.
De-Inter Lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch in De-Inter Lock position.
Travel Slow / Fast speed selector switch in Slow position.

To position the Machine for stacking following operations are required to be done.
1. Travel Drives shall be operated by travel master controller to move the machine to
Stacking START position toward drive house DH - 1. Along with the Travel drives
cable reeling drives shall start automatically.
When the machine is moved up-to Stacking START position the operator shall
observe the Travel Stacking START position indication on annunciation / indication
panel (located in operators cabin) and will stop the travel drive by keeping the
master controller in Zero position.
2. Slew drives shall be operated by slew master controller to slew the boom away from
the yard conveyor. When boom is slewed to Slew stacking START position, the
operator shall observe the Slew stacking START position indication on annunciation
/ indication panel and will stop the slew drive by operating the slew master
controller in Zero position. The slew speed of the boom shall be adjusted by the
speed setting potentiometer provided on control desk.
3. Hydraulic Luff Drive shall be operated by Hoist Master Controller to lower the boom.
When the boom reaches the lowest position the Hydraulic Luff Drive shall be
switched off. The lowering operation can be stopped by operating the Hoist Master
Controller in Zero position. The Luffing speed is preset on electronic control card
inturns setting the oil flow by proportional control valve on Boom luffing Hyd.
System.
1.1.3 MANUAL STACKING MODE OF OPERATION
This mode of operation is provided for stacking the material as desired by the operator.
Prior to this the machine has to be positioned a described under 1.1.2. To operate the
machine in this mode the various switches shall be kept in required position as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Local / Control desk selector switch in Control Desk position.

Manual / Auto selector switch in Manual position.
De-Inter Lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch in Stacking position.
Travel Slow / Fast speed selector switch in Slow position.

The following equipments are set automatically for stacking operation.

The Bucket Wheel Chute gets lifted, stock pile detection switch bracket moves
downwards and Skirt Board gets lifted. Now the operator can operate various controls
provided on the control desk in the following sequence of operation.

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1. Press the START warning Push button on Control desk.

The hooter will be switched ON for predetermined time (approx. 15 Secs) for
Warning the persons near by the machine.
2. Press the Boom Conveyor FORWARD START push button on Control Desk within the
preset time of one minute after the warning time is over. If the operator fails to
start the Boom Conveyor within one minute preset time then once again the START
warning is to be given. After the boom conveyor starts running, press the
intermediate conveyor START push button on control desk.
When the intermediate conveyor starts running, the signal will be given to Central
Control Room to start yard conveyor in stacking direction.
3. When the yard conveyor start feeding the material to the boom conveyor via
intermediate conveyor, the operator will start the travel drives in forward direction
by operating the Travel Master Controller.
The operator will stop the travel drives according to the required length of stock
pile.
4. Operator shall observe the stand still period at this end (full formation of end cone
being judged by the operator) and give Travel reverse command. The machine will
start moving in reverse direction. The operator shall stop the travel drives at
stacking start position.
5. The operator shall once again observe the stand still period at the this end and shall
give Travel forward command.
6. The operator shall Travel the machine To and Fro along the entire length of pile as
described above. When the stacked material touches the stock pile detection switch
located at the discharge end of the Boom Conveyor, the operator has to lift the
Boom to such a height to keep the dust formation minimum at the end of travel by
operating hoist Master Controller.
7. The stacking process is repeated till the desired stock pile height is achieved. This
way the triangular cross section of the required stock pile is achieved. For making
the trapezoidal cross section of the stock pile, the operator has to slew the boom
towards yard conveyor by approx. 2 degrees by operating slew master controller
when the machine is at end of the Travel. The operator will continue the To and Fro
travelling of the machine. The operator has to adjust the travel length manually for
stacking in this extreme end of pile such that the straight edge of the trapezoidal
cross section is achieved instead of drooping of the top of stock pile once again
when the material touches the stock pile detection switch, operator has to slew the
boom by approx. 2 degree and continue the travel. The operator repeat the process
until the stock pile full indication appears on annunciation / indication panel.

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1.1.4 AUTO STACKING MODE OF OPERATION

This mode of operation is provided for stacking the material for required length of stock
pile. Prior to this the machine has to be positioned as described under 1.1.2. To operate
the machine in this mode the various switch shall be kept in required position as follows
:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Local / Control desk selector switch in Control Desk position.

Manual / Auto selector switch in Auto position.
De-Inter Lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch in Stacking position.
Travel Slow / Fast speed selector switch in Slow position.
Adjust the thumb wheel switch for required length of Stock Pile & Press the data
entry push button on Control Desk to feed the information to PLC.

Press the Auto START push button on Control Desk. The following sequence of
operation will take place automatically.
The warning hooter is switched ON automatically for the predetermined time to warn
the persons near the machine. The hooter is switched OFF after the preset time is over.
The Boom Conveyor automatically starts in forward direction and subsequently the
intermediate conveyor starts running. The signal for boom conveyor running in forward
direction & intermediate conveyor running will be given to central control room. The
yard conveyor shall be started from central control room in stacking direction. When
the material starts flowing on the boom conveyor via intermediate conveyor, the
material presence is sensed by the belt starvation switch, the travel drives along with
the cable reeling drives shall be switched ON automatically. The machine moves at slow
speed and commences forming the first layer of the Stock Pile. The Travel Drive is
automatically stopped after pre-set length is completed and reversed after the preset
stand still time is over. This way the formation of first layer continues. The machine
travels To and Fro between the set end limits of the pile. The stock pile detection switch
mounted on the boom detects that the first layer height is reached. The signal is stored
in the PLC memory and machine continues its travel up to the end in that direction.
When this end of the pile is reached, the Hydraulic Luffing Drive lifts the Boom to the
next layer height over a timer circuit in the PLC. When the timer runs out the Luffing
gear automatically switches OFF and the To and Fro travel motion continues for second
layer. This process continues till the desire stock pile height is achieved and the upper
luff limit switch is activated the machine continues to move up to the end of the pile.
However, further Luffing is blocked. After this stage the Boom is slewed automatically
for approx. 2 degrees towards the yard Conveyor by a timer circuit in PLC (slewing
speed is programmed in PLC). When the timer runs out the slewing is stopped and
machine continues To and Fro travel. The travel ends are atomically gets adjusted in
this extreme end of the pile such that the straight edge of the trapezoidal cross section
is achieved instead of drooping of top of stock pile. Once again when the material
touches the stock pile detection switch, the boom is slewed automatically for approx. 2
degree towards the yard conveyor. This way when the desire boom slew angle is
achieved and the material is sensed by the stock pile detection switch, the stock pile
full indication appears on annunciation / indication panel and the stacking process is
stopped.

1.1.5 POSITIONING THE MACHINE FOR RECLAIMING

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For positioning the machine for reclaiming, Manual de-interlock mode of operation is to
be followed. The various selector switches shall be kept in required position as follows.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Local / Control desk selector switch in Control Desk position.

Manual / Auto selector switch in Manual position.
De-Inter Lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch in De-InterLock position.
Travel Slow / Fast speed selector switch in Slow position.

To position the Stacker cum Reclaimer machine for reclaiming, following operations are
required to be done
1. Travel drives shall be operated by Travel Master Controller to move the machine
towards DH-1 & stop the machine at the end of stock pile.
2. Hoist & Slew the boom by the Master Controller so that the bucket wheel touches
the top layer of the stock pile end towards yard conveyor.
1.1.6 CONTOUR FORMATION FOR RECLAIMING
For Manual/ Auto reclaiming operation initial contour formation is required to be done
as shown in drawing No
For contour formation it is assumed that the machine is positioned for reclaiming as
explain above point no.1.1.5
Now the De-InterLock/ Stacking/ Reclaiming Selector switch shall be kept in Reclaiming
position. Then the following equipments are set automatically for reclaiming operation.
a. The bucket wheel chute gets lowered down so as to direct the material from
bucket wheel to the boom conveyor.
b. Stock pile detection switch bracket moves upward so as to avoid material
detection during reclaiming.
c. The skirt board gets lowered down so as to guide the material from boom
conveyor to the yard conveyor.
After receiving the instructions from central control room to start reclaiming, the
operator has to start the machine as per the following sequence.
i.
Ensure that the yard conveyor is running in reclaiming direction.
ii.
Press the Start warning Push button on control desk, the hooter will
be switched on for pre-determine time ( Approx. 15 Sec.).
iii.
After the hooter is switched off, start the boom conveyor in reverse
direction & subsequently start the bucket wheel drive.
iv.
The operator shall start the Travel drive by the Master Controller in
forward direction to the desire depth of cut ( 0.9 x height of bucket)
& stop the Travel drive.
v.

Operator should slew the boom by master controller to take first

cut from top bench. As soon as boom comes out of the pile,
stop the slew drive and switch ON the travel drive for the
desired depth of cut and stop the travel drive. Slew the boom in
opposite direction to take second cut. As soon as the boom
comes out of the pile, stop the slew drive. Continue the
operation of travel and slew till full width of the pile has been
cut for Top bench.

vi.

Reverse the machine by travel drive master controller and stop

where the reclaiming was started. Lower and slew the boom by
master controller so that bucket wheel touches the second layer
of the stockpile end towards yard conveyor.
vii.

Repeat the operation of machine as given in point (iv) ,(v)and

(vi) for Middle & Bottom bench.

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Customer

After the contour formation is completed as explained above the reclaiming can be
done in Manual/ Auto mode.
1.1.7

MANUAL RECLAIMING MODE OF OPERATION

After receiving the instructions from central control room to start the reclaiming, the
operator shall position the machine on contour formed pile. The various switches shall
be kept in required position as follows
1.
2.
3.
4.

Local / Control desk selector switch in Control Desk position.

Manual / Auto selector switch in Manual position.
De-Inter Lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch in Reclaiming position.
Travel Slow / Fast speed selector switch in Slow position.

Now the operator shall follow the sequence of operation as explain in Point No. 1.1.6
(i to vii) above for desired length of stock pile to be reclaimed. However the operator
has to ensure that the contour of the stock pile is maintain same as starting of
reclaiming.
1.1.8

AUTO RECLAIMING MODE OF OPERATION

This mode of operation is provided for reclaiming the material for the required
length from all three Benches of the stock pile. The operator shall position the
machine on contour formed pile. Stockpiled material is reclaimed layer by layer in
block digging operation .The boom remains at the same elevation throughout a
digging pass, and the depth of cut is pre-selected. In each slew cycle the machine
itself automatically determines the optimum reversing point at the pile face for
slewing out of the full pile or slew limit set for particular bench.
Automatic control is provided to achieve approximately constant reclaiming rate
throught out the slewing operation. The reclaiming rate depends upon the power
consumed by the bucket wheel drive motor for the pre-selected depth of cut. To
maintain the consumed power, the slew speed is required to be continuously
adjusted. For this purpose KW transducer is used for sensing the power consumed
by bucket wheel drive motor. The output of KW transducer is used by the PLC to
derive the effective slew drive speed reference for maintaining the consumed power
& hence the reclaiming rate.
For this mode of operation the various switches shall be kept in required position as
follows
1. Local / Control desk selector switch in Control Desk position.
2. Manual / Auto selector switch in Auto position.
3. De-Inter Lock / Stacking / Reclaiming selector switch in Reclaiming position.
4. Travel Slow / Fast speed selector switch in Slow position.
5. Adjust the thumb wheel switch for required length of reclaimation & press the
data entry push button on control desk to feed the information to PLC.
After receiving the instructions from central control room to start reclaiming and
ensuring that the yard conveyor is running in reclaiming direction, the Operator has to
press auto start P/B on C/D which in turn switches ON the hooter automatically for
predetermined time to warn persons on/near the machine.
After switching OFF the
hooter, boom conveyor will start in reverse direction and subsequently bucket wheel will
start running. Now machine moves by fixed bite step in forward direction and stop.
The boom will start to slew away from yard conveyor and bucket wheel starts to take
first bite. The PLC slews the boom in the required direction until the bucket wheel

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completes the bite and either reaches the slew end limits or comes out of the stockpile.
To ensure complete bite in the case of uneven peaks in the layer, a time bias is
given when kW transducer momentarily senses less than 15% power. When the active
power confirmed by the bucket wheel drive is less than 15% beyond this time bias,
the bucket wheel has actually come out of the pile after having completed the bite.
The PLC automatically stops further slewing and starts the travel drive to move forward
by fixed bite step. The travel motion is then stopped and the slew gear is automatically
reversed to once again bite into the pile.
The co-ordinated slew left/right and the
travel bite step motions are continued until the preset distance set by thumb wheel
switch is travelled. The machine has now completed reclaiming the top bench of the
preset length of the pile and is automatically brought back to the new starting point
(to take into consideration the pile geometry after the topmost layer is reclaimed, the
machine is automatically moved back by a pre-set amount and the second layer bite is
commenced). The boom is now automatically slewed towards yard conveyor upto slew
end limit for middle bench & then lowered until the limit switch of the middle bench is
actuated after which the luff drive is stopped. Then once again the co-ordinated slew
left/right & the travel bite step motion are continued until the pre-set distance is
travelled. The machine has now completed the reclaiming of middle bench & is
automatically brought back to the new starting point for reclaiming the bottom bench
and the process is repeated for reclaiming the bottom bench. When the machine travels
for the preset distance in forward direction, the reclaiming process is stopped.

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