Asymmetrical Hard Rock Body for underground hauling environments

Recently, Philippi-Hagenbuch, a global leader in off-highway haul truck customization, expanded its custom engineering portfolio of HiVol Hard Rock Bodies to include asymmetrical bodies that are optimized for underground environments. Philippi-Hagenbuch manufactured and delivered the inaugural four bodies for articulated John Deere 260E haul trucks working in an underground limestone mine in Kansas City, MO. The design maximizes each truck’s hauling capacity while allowing for safer, more efficient loading to account for environmental constraints, such as clearance and visibility.

We recognize that every mine is different, so it has always been our focus to address our clients’ needs with custom-engineered and manufactured solutions. In a dark underground space, these custom-engineered bodies make a significant difference in terms of increasing the safety and efficiency of the loading process.

Each Hard Rock Body for the underground limestone mine has a total volumetric capacity of 33.5 tonnes, an increase over the 27.4-tonnes OEM body capacity. The custom design features a hoisted, low-side body in which the passenger’s side is taller than the driver’s side to factor in loading conditions, such as the loader itself, mine height, loading direction, and cycle time. This asymmetry gives clearance for the loader on the driver’s side and allows the passenger side to act as a backboard to catch material as it is loaded, avoiding unnecessary spillage.

To ensure an equal distribution of weight and improve stability, the bodies are engineered with a floor that is elongated on the driver’s side and shortened on the passenger’s side. Widening the body lowers the centre of gravity, making the truck more stable and increasing operator safety. Engineers addressed the unique size of the offset body by customizing a cylinder mount with shortened OEM cylinders to meet clearance specifications and ensure the body of the truck did not hit the ceiling in the underground mine when dumping.

Although the cylinder mount required engineering, there was no need to design a brand-new cylinder for it. Our philosophy is to use as many OEM body-mounting components as possible so that it is easier for clients to replace wear parts, minimizing maintenance and downtime.

Each body is built exclusively with high-strength, abrasion-resistant Hardox 450 steel for robust durability to handle extreme mining environments. Additionally, the bodies come equipped with a custom-engineered Autogate tailgate to maximize capacity and prevent spillage from the back of the truck. These tailgates are uniquely designed to match the asymmetrical shape of the custom body and the natural angle of repose of the material being hauled.

This design, while engineered for a specific mining operation, offers potential benefits for a wide range of operations with underground haul trucks. 

Josh Swank is Philippi-Hagenbuch’s vice-president of sales and marketing and chief growth officer.