Atlas Copco - Annual Report 1999

CONSTRUCTION AND MINING TECHNIQUE
CONSTRUCTION AND MINING TECHNIQUE
Customer and supplier join
forces in product development
Close cooperation with customers is essential for success in developing state-of-
the-art rock drilling equipment. A basic requirement for a new product is that it
improves customers’ operations. Atlas Copco’s Rock Drilling Equipment division
continuously interacts with its customers to achieve better results in ever-
changing rock conditions.
One example of how supplier-customer
partnerships
can successfully overcome
formidable obstacles is
apparent at the Zinkgruvan
mine, located near the northern
tip of Vättern, Sweden’s
second largest lake. Atlas
Copco and the mine have
cooperated on the development of drilling rigs and components
for nearly 20 years. The benefits for both parties are significant.
By participating in the development and testing of new products,
the client gain quicker access to more efficient products that are
adapted to their requirements and reduce their cost per ton of
52 ATLAS COPCO 1999
ore. Atlas Copco, in turn, benefits from
shorter time-to-market and products that
better match market demands.
The partnership is now contributing to
a program designed to improve production
drilling at Zinkgruvan. The changes
involve closer cooperation between the
four major underground mining areas and
improvements in mining methods. An
Atlas Copco-Zinkgruvan interactive project
group was formed to evaluate investment in a new production
rig and to define its specifications. Zinkgruvan set several criteria:
accuracy of less than one degree in positioning the feed; high
availability from reduced downtime between varied drilling tasks;
fixed alternatives in the control system for different applications
to reduce downtime and drill-steel consumption.
The project group opted for the updated Simba rig, which
drills straighter and longer holes. Following changes at the
mine, it will have a higher degree of utilization. The new rig will
give Zinkgruvan the flexibility and accuracy needed to handle
shifts in mining conditions and any alterations in methods they
may wish to make.