Recent advancements in Dragline control systems

Abstract

This paper discusses about the robust machine “Dragline”, from century old techniques employed for power transmission, control and operation to the recent trends. Dragline is mostly used in mining sector for removal of overburden as it is highly economical in comparison to the usage of shovel–dumper combination of the same, however the deployment of dragline is subjected to the geographical conditions of the mine. Dragline in general mostly comprises Drag, Hoist and Swing mechanism. For the Drag, Hoist and Swing operations earlier DC machines are used with Ward–Leonard control mechanism, but recently due to advancements in power electronic devices AC motors found their application for the same due to their less maintenance costs and also reducing the number of machines resulting in increasing the overall efficiency. Also, gear less power transmission techniques are in place. In parallel, the control techniques are also getting evolved and automation is taking place starting with Swing mechanism extending to the whole operation.