Astec Australia has released the Copperhead Rockbreaker Boom System — a rockbreaker system which can be permanently attached to a portable or mobile crushing plant, reducing transport and installation time.
Astec says the system has been designed without the need for a cumbersome pedestal base, allowing the boom to be easily bolted on to the side of track crushing plants or between the drive and the jaw on portable plants.
The lack of a pedestal base also means the boom arm has a very narrow profile and the unit can be installed on sites with limited space. The small footprint also means the unit does not need be removed for transportation as the boom arm will come in under the maximum allowable travel height for the crushing plant.
The bolt-on design also means any modifications that need to be made to the crushing plant itself are kept to a minimum. The boom can achieve a swing of 290 degrees thanks to a hydraulic drive motor and a sealed, internal gear-driven slew ring.
According to Astec, the 3-metre boom arm has been manufactured with profiled plate construction to optimise material thickness and strength. The joints on the boom have been designed to maximise operation time between servicing through the use of oversized hardened alloy pins and fully replaceable thrust washers to protect the main boom components.
The boom’s oversized hydraulic cylinders are cast from high-tensile steel and chrome-plated to withstand shock and vibration. The cylinders and construction offer a payload lift capacity of 1,600kg which can come in handy when performing maintenance and liner changes.
The Copperhead has been designed to support a range of models from the smallest BX8 through to the 3,000ft-lb-capacity BX30.
“The Copperhead is the culmination of all our latest thinking for rockbreaking for track mounted applications,” national product manager John Williams says. “The unit is small enough to fold away for transport but powerful enough to deal with oversize and blockages.”
The rockbreaker is controlled using twin electro-hydraulic joysticks with load-sensing directional control valves that give the operator precise and variable control of the boom’s functions. Astec advises that the unit also comes with a range of options including handheld radio remote control and parker control valves for higher speed and control.
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