Overview/HistoryIf a "Robotic Applicator" is mentioned in connection with tunnelling and sprayed concrete, what is basically meant is an apparatus used to hold and control a spraying nozzle. Why should this be necessary when a man can do the same work?
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 One of the original MEYCO spraying manipulators
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Tunnelling is an intrinsically dangerous form of construction, especially as sprayed concrete is used as initial temporary support after blasting. Having a mechanical arm extending into the danger area is a great addition to personnel safety.
A spraying manipulator is a hydro-mechanical, remote-controlled spraying manipulator unit for mechanizing and automating the application of sprayed concrete. It is actually suitable for use anywhere where large quantities of shotcrete, wet or dry are to be applied. In tunnel and gallery construction but also for protecting building pits and slopes of all kinds. They should be used anywhere conditions are dangerous or hazardous to health, where unstable tunnel advances, rebound or dust are a problem. The manipulator will save the cost and time of erecting scaffolding, where due to the very size of the working area it would otherwise be needed. The manipulator can be mounted on various kinds of carrier vehicles. More information regarding the history of spraying manipulators is available from MEYCO . |
Characteristics/Applications
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Most of the manipulators are featured in other sections of the MEYCO equipment range as part of complete systems and vehicles. But the following will give you an overview of the range of spraying manipulators that MEYCO can offer you as components in their own right. This list does not include special custom-made units nor systems using component parts.
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   Spray range
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The MEYCO Robojet is the classic MEYCO spraying manipulator and has been tried and tested, proving itself on hundreds of sites over the last 2 decades. Thanks to their robust construction MEYCO Robojets have a long life considering the tough conditions they encounter whenever they are set to work. The operating principles are simple to understand and handling is easy. The nozzle movements follow the movements as on the remote control and an operator is quickly familiar with the system. Even large quantities can be distributed evenly by keeping the correct angle and and nozzle distance . It has 16 movement functions plus nozzle oscillation and most importantly, and cherished by nozzle-men, is the parallel spraying movement, whereby the lance to boom angle is automatically compensated to allow a flowing spraying action parallel to the floor along the wall. This operation is further simplified by the automation of the lance movement. Flexibility in the design of the MEYCO Robojet has lead to it being mounted on a host of various carrier vehicles, from trucks to rail cars, from excavators to TBM,s. It is possible to have the full unit with turntable, boom, lance, spraying head and electro-hydraulic power pack, or just individual modules to suit the site and spraying requirements
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 spray range |
The MEYCO Maxima is absolutely unique! Designed and constructed using MEYCO’s extensive experience in the field of spraying manipulators. Standard on MEYCO Roadrunner, it is now available as an option for the MEYCO Potenza. It has, among other important features, an undisputable spraying range advantage and can also be extended in any tunnel profile that the MEYCO Potenza can fit into! Only having 3 main fields of movement guided using an ergonomically designed joystick plus the 3 spraying head movements, the Maxima is very simple to use and the “learning curve” is short. Movement speed is also adjustable from the joystick. The system has a full Graphic User Interface, possible through the use of an industrial computer as controlling unit. This allows the MEYCO Maxima to have advanced attributes valuable to the operator such as a virtual parallel lance movement, through computer controlled nozzle position compensation. There is also the ability to mark a spraying range and then, in an semi-automatic mode, the operator can easily spray along paths parallel to the predefined axis. More information is available in the MEYCO Potenza brochure
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 Spraying range Rama 4 Rama 6
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MEYCO Rama 4 + Rama 6 are a small range of manipulators. Their common features are that they can be mounted on almost any type of carrier vehicle or mounting stage. They are all of robust and simple construction and they vary only in that each model has a different maximum spraying range, derived from their physical dimensions of the extensions. They all have a spraying head with two hydraulic oscillating motors with nutation device transmitting the required wobble movement to the spraying nozzle; adjustable speeds allowing optimum nozzle positioning. They have sheet steel rebound protection around the boom extensions.
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 Spraying range
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MEYCO Minima is completely different to the sort used in large profile tunnels. The great advantage is that it is very compact when packed away for tramming around restricted roadways and tight corners as are found in the mining sector. The total spraying reach is less than that of it's larger brothers, but this is in harmony with the usual working environment. To make all this possible a sophisticated roll-over system was designed
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 Spraying range Logica 15
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MEYCO Logica 15 is a relatively new machine, based on the well known kinematic principles of the MEYCO Robojet, has now been developed in cooperation with industry and academia. This manipulator with 8 degrees of freedom has a new automatic and human oriented control system. The new tool enables an operator to manipulate the spraying jet in various modes, from purely manual to semi-automatic and fully automatic, within selected underground areas. It is also able to measure the tunnel profile with a laser scanner. This exact control provides huge advantages where the spraying tolerances are extremely exact. The fully automatic mode also has been shown to be vital where conditions are extremely dangerous.
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 Technical drawing
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Shaft Robo - Shaft manipulators actually have a lot in common with ring constructions made for TBM's. The big difference is obviously the angle and direction in which the carrier vehicle, in this case a stage, which is either lowered or raised within a verticle bore-hole. Again the manipulator must be an integral part of a coordinated sprayed concrete system. Depending on the diameter of the hole, a centrally mounted lance or a ring running around the stage would be used.
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 Technical drawing
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TBM Ring Construction - A TBM can also be viewed as a carrier vehicle. Manipulators on TBM's should be, of course, part of an integrated system designed with the quality of end product ie sprayed concrete in mind. TBM's vary greatly in their individual construction dictated by the geological structure of the ground. This in turn influences the design of the manipulator. Space is at a premium and the logistics difficult so that a manipulator must have the greatest possible movement but not clutter up the already crowded back-up rig. MEYCO has manufactured both ring construction type manipulators and centrally placed lance units according to the local requirements. These units are always tailor made, but should contain all the basic principles and components to enable movement, dexterity and ease of handling for the nozzle-man. A large ring would be similar to equipment used in the Lötschberg Transalpino Project in Steg and Raron. Double lances running on rings, being supplied by twin specialised MEYCO Suprema sprayed concrete pumps, installed a considerable distance away.
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ApplicationsMEYCO spraying manipulators have also became very diverse, but specialised, as their construction and have been customised to be exactly suited to the application conditions, be it for large civil projects, tight mining tunnels, shafts or even integrated into a TBM. |
For further information or specific technical data please contact us at MEYCO |
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