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Digging forces of Electric Rope Shovel and Adjustment made for a Better
Digging Shovel Having Optimum Rake and Tooth Angles

Conference Paper · November 2016

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 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey

DIGGING FORCES OF ELECTRIC ROPE SHOVEL (ERS) AND

ADJUSTMENTS MADE FOR A BETTER DIGGING SHOVEL
HAVING OPTIMUM DIPPER RAKE AND TOOTH ANGLES
Metin Özdoğan a*, Hakkı Özdoğan b,
a
(İdeal Makina Danışmanlık ltd., Ankara)
b
(İdeal Makina Danışmanlık ltd., Ankara)
* Corresponding Author: metinozdogan@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: Digging force of electric rope shovel (ERS) has two components which are being crowd
and bail pull forces. Crowd (penetration) force pushes the dipper into the bank whereas bail pull (breakout)
force moves the dipper upwards to fill it. The resultant of the both forces is the digging force of the dipper of
electric rope shovel. The optimization of crowd and hoist (bail) forces are extremely important; excessive
crowd force application either stalls the equipment (heavy penetration) or jacks the boom backwards which
is detrimental on both boom and boom suspension ropes (cables) due to heavy vibration caused. On the other
hand, poor crowd force, shallow peneration, ends up with poor dipper fill. Symptoms of heavy and shallow
penetration on dipper are cited.

In the paper, the optimization procedure of digging is presented in detail and discussed in depth.
Penetration of dipper ie depth of cut is governed by rake and tooth angles of the dipper. Adjustment and
optimization of the rake and tooth angles are depicted and discussed in detail. Furthermore, other parameters
influencing the digging performance of ERS and dippers’ are cited and discussed; like rock diggability, rock
swell factor, dipper fill factor, swing angle, position of ERS with respect to bank, position of off-highway
trucks (OHT) relative to ERS and digging bench face, are discussed.

KEYWORDS: Electric Rope Shovel, Digging Force, Dipper Rake Angle, Dipper Tooth Angle, Boom
Jacking, Digging Optimization, Shallow Penetration, Heavy Penetration

1. INTRODUCTION

The dipper is electric rope shovel’s (ERS) rock material engaging, digging and loading tool. All the
cumbersome drive and power train systems, advanced powering and control systems exist to power, support
and operate the humble and unsophisticated dipper (shovel). It is the combatant and the most important but
the least attention attracting section of the ERS equipment unfotunately by maintenance and repair crews and
even by the mine managers. This is at least the author’s field observations and experience at the most of the
surface mines in this country.

Shi and Joseph, (2005) pointed out that this frontier section of the ERS did not draw much attention
neither from the mine sites nor from the original equipment manufacturers (OEM), until recently. The main
design features of ERS dipper have not been changed for about half a century. In the recent years, the OEM
pays attention to develop better performing new generation dippers for increased output; and reducing the
operational, repair and maintenance expenditures through developing abrasion and material sticking resistant
ones.
Dipper’s rock material engaging tools are the dipper teeth monted on lip of the dipper. Teeth comprises of
tips and adapters. The ground engaging tools’ (GET) function is dual ie penetrating the rock material and
 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey
protecting the dipper’s unprotected sections against wear and tear by sacrificing itself (wearing), (Carter,
2008).
Electric rope shovel (ERS) dippers may be classifed based on the field of application such as rock dippers
and coal dippers, or on the weight of the material which is made of such as heavy duty, medium duty and
light duty dippers; heavy duty ones are used in digging dense and abrasive rock material whereas light duty
ones are generally used as coal loading dippers.
Another classification is based on the geometry of the dipper such as bail and bailless type dippers. Some
of the new generation shovels are equipped with bailless dippers in order to keep up with ever growing truck
sizes and to increase the the payload by getting rid of the dead-weight of the dipper bail. The loading height
of ERS with dippers having no bails gain an extra dump height of 1,2 and 1,8 meters, (Binns, 2015). New
generation ERSs usually have dippers with rectangular cross-section instead of square cross-sectioned ones
used on older electric rope shovels. It is claimed that rectangular cross-sectioned dippers have better material
flow and better fill factors, (Binns, 2015).
Irrespective of type of dipper, it is always better having a dipper designed and manufactured for the
specific mine site conditions. This type of dippers are called as mine-matched dipper which implies a tailor
made one for the site in question. Therefore, it is expected to perform better.
For a specific ERS, the heavier the dipper, the smaller the payvolume and consequently the lower the
payload is; due to the fact that every ERS has a specific (rated) maximum allowable suspended load
capacity which is inclusive of the dipper and riggings’ tare weights.
Standard dipper sizes given in technical specification sheets of the ERSs are designed for rocks with bank
measure unit weight of 2,3 tonnes per m3 and a swell factor of 1,30. This implies that the loose weight of the
bank material being excavated is 1,77 tonnes per m3. For this reason, if the bank material being excavated is
lighter than the above cited unit weights, the ERS can be equipped with a comparatively bigger sized dipper
(Grant 2015).

Ground Engaging Tools (GET) have dual functions, one being the better penetration of the dipper into the
dig bank, the other one being to protect the dipper’s unprotected sections against abrasion and wear, (Carter,
2008). New generation GETs are manufactured in such a way that there is no need to sludge hammer to
install the connection elements like c-clamps, wedges and pins. Another development in new generation
dipper teeth is that they are made out of such material that the dipper teeth keep their sharpness as it wears so
it can be used for a longer period of time. GET is an important consumable in some abrasive rocks so that it
can be an important expense item, if it is not forecasted beforehand (Carter, 2008).

1.1. Digging Forces of ERS

The digging force of the ERS is the resultant of crowd and hoist forces acting on the dipper. Crowd force
pushes the dipper into the material and keeps it in the material meanwhile hoist force (bail pull) pulls the
dipper upwards at bench. Crowd force governs the depth of cut of the dipper during the digging segment of
the ERS cycle time (CT). Therefore, crowd force represents dipper penetration whereas hoist force
represents breakout force, (Patnayak et al, 2008).

Depth of cut (penetration) is a function of resultant of crowd and hoist forces and rake angle of dipper. If
it is too shallow it is waste of energy and poor bucket filling performance, if it is too thick, the ERS stalls.
Therefore, an optimum cutting thickness has to be achieved. Usually, ERS operators optimize this by
experience. However, the new generation ERSs’ have dig optimizing systems which optimise the crowd and
hoist (bail pull) forces to have an optimum resultant dipper digging force. Thus, the risk of stalling and boom
jacking during operation are reduced to a minimum level.

Depth of cut (slab thickness) is adjusted by the magnitude of crowd force. Thicker cuts (depth of cuts)
may slow the bail speed and may increase the CT and in turn; bigger magnitudes of crowd force may
generate Boom Jacking (BJK), see Figure 1. The thinner the cut, the less the energy consumed per cycle,
(Patnayak ve Tannant, 2005).
 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey

2. OPTIMIZATION OF DIGGING FORCES OF ERS

Good operators manage applying balanced crowd and hoisting movements so that a smooth digging is
achieved at the bench face; in case of excessive crowd force application, there is a danger of stalling and/or
boom jacking of ERS because of thick cutting depth of dipper. Coordination (optimisation) of crowd and
hoist is extremely important for a safe and sound operation.

Boom jacking generates svere vibration which is detrimental on the boom structure and the suspension
cables. Dipper breakout force is the resultant of crowd and bail pull forces. In order to prevent BJK crowd
force should not be bigger in magnitude than the component of ERS dipper breakout force in the direction of
the acting crowd force.

BJK should be avoided, because it is stressful on the ERS boom and boom suspension ropes. The new
generation ERSs’ are equipped with boom jacking warning systems; for example, OptiDig® which optimizes
crowd and hoist forces during digging operation ie optimising the cutting depth, thus preventing the boom
jacking happen.

In the last decade, studies on ERS digging kinematics and dynamics, digging trajectory, depth of cut etc
increased. Detailed digging analytics of ERSs are given in studies of Shi and Joseph (2005) and Offei and
Frimpong (2007). For the best and efficient digging, the equipment operator should adjust the crowd and
hoist forces such that the optimum depth of cut is obtained, the dipper is filled in the shortest possible time
with minimum energy consumed, (Offei ve Frimpong, 2007).

Figure 1. Boom jacking and caused vibration on boom and boom suspension ropes,(Anon. a, 2009)

3. DIPPER RAKE AND TOOTH ANGLES OF ERS

The rake angle is defined as the angle formed between the level ground line from the leading edge of the
dipper lip to the point at which an individual rack pinion contacts the dipper handle rack, see Figure 2. As the
rake angle is adjusted via pitch brake length up or down the tooth angle adjusts with it as seen in Figure 3.
(Anon a., 2009).
 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey

Figure 2. Illustration of dipper rake angle (Anon a, 2009)

3.1. Dipper Rake Angle and Dipper Tooth Angle and Their Effect on Digging
Rake angle and tooth angle govern the way of how dipper is filled and how much energy consumed to fill
in the dipper. Figure 3, depicts the dipper rake and tooth angles. The dipper tooth angle is dependent (a
function of ) to the dipper rake angle, as the rake angle adjusted (tuned) the tooth angle is automatically
tuned. Adjustment of rake angle by adjusting the pitch brace lengths

Figure 3. ERS dipper rake and tooth angle, (Anon. a, 2009)

 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey

The bigger the tooth angle, the higher the cutting action is. Because of this fact, the tooth angle is
generally tried to be adjusted as bigger as possible. The limit here is the optimum wear on the heel band of
the dipper, the wear and tear on the heel band should be kept at an acceptable level.

The higher the tooth angle, the higher the wear on heel band and bottom of the tooth adapters. The lower
(smaller) the tooth angle, the poorer the cut (raking) at the bench with lower dipper fill factors and higher
wear on top of tooth adapters.

In easy digging, where wear is less of concern, a steeper angle provides the greatest efficiency. In heavy
digging where abrasive wear may be extreme, a lower rake angle is recommended. Excessive heeling can
degrade penetration, even in non-abrasive material, (Anon. a, 2009). Rake angle is adjusted by adjusting the
length of pitch braces of the dipper.

3.2. Optimisation of Rake Angle of Dipper

The starting reference angles of dipper tooth and rake angles are given below depending on the digging
difficulty encountered at the bench, Figures 4 and 5. Rake angle has to be fine tuned depending on the rock
material density, performance and frequency of the blasting rounds for having an optimised rake angle.

Dipper rake angle has a direct influence on the tooth angle and digging force applied to working face, as
well as the amount of wear on the dipper. The rake angle is fine tuned by adjusting the length of pitch braces
(Klink, 2016).
As seen in Figure 2. above, to properly measure the rake angle, the ERS must be on level ground. To
assure that the dipper is level, the dipper’s latch keper and tooth adapters must also be resting on the ground
(Anon a, 2009).

Figure 4. Starting rake angle reference angle ranges to adjust ERS rake angle (Data Anon a, 2009)

Position of the ERS for the best digging performance is where the hoist rope is parallel to the bench face
or perpendicular to the ground surface. In this position ERS applies the biggest bail pull to the dipper and
dipper teeth, and have top digging performance (Ozdogan, 2009).
 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey

Figure 5. Starting tooth angle reference angle ranges to adjust ERS tooth angle (Data Anon a, 2009)

3.3. Symptoms of Heavy and Shallow Penetration on the Dipper

The rake angle has a direct influence on the tooth angle and the digging force applied to bank and on the
wear on the dipper. The rake angle is optimised by adjusting the length of the pitch braces. The pitch braces
can be of adjustable length type or fixed type. Pitch braces may be mounted on the upper or lower side of the
dipper. Upper side located pitch braces are more common. The below given symptoms are for the dippers
with pitch braces mounted on the upper side of the dipper.

3.4. Signs of Heavy Penetration on the Dipper

The symptoms of extreme depth of cut are as follows and signs imply that the pitch braces are too long;
Excessive material carried back on the dipper after dumping. Greater wear on the top legs of the tooth
adapters than on the bottom legs. Excessive wear on the inside of the lip. Excessive heel band and latch
keeper clearance with the material as the dipper cuts through the bank. Difficulty holding the grade.
Excessive hoist motion; stalling in the bank (Liedke, 2014).

3.5. Signs of Shallow Penetration on the Dipper

The symptoms of shallow depth of cut are as follows and signs imply that the pitch braces are too short;
Rapid heel band and latch keper wear with a short interval between heel band and/or latch keeper rebuild or
replacement. Excessive latch keeper maintenance due to increased loading on the dipper heel with little or no
heel band clearance from the bank. Greater wear on the bottom legs of the tooth adapters than on the top legs.
Poor shovel operation with difficulty holding a level flor when standing back from the bank; the shovel will
not penetrate the bank due to lack of heel band clearance pitch. Excessive hoist and crowd motion are
required to make the dipper dig (Liedke, 2014).

When the pitch braces are at their optimum length, the operator can hold a level floor grade without
difficulty. The dipper will penetrate and slice through the bank easily and fill in about two-and-half (2,5)
 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey

lengths of the dipper front. Filling will be fastest at the bottom (toe) of the bank, and the dipper will be full
well before the time it reaches the dump height level, (Wood, 2015).

In order to measure the rake angle properly, the ERS must be on level ground. To assure that the dipper is
level, the dipper’s latch keper and tooth adapters must also be resting on the ground, (Wood, 2015).

3.6. Adjusting the Rake Angle

In order to adjust the rake angle, the pitch braces are disconnected at one end. ERS is propelled forward or
backward, as needed, until the desired angle is achieved. It will then be necessary to adjust or modify the
length of the pitch braces and reconnect them (Klink, 2015). For fine tuning of the rake angle, the mine
surveyors may be called to help measuring the angles. There are two types of pitch braces the conventional
fixed length ones and modern adjustable ones. Fixed length ones are either to cut and/or weld (extend the
length) or replaced by a longer or shorter ones. In the adjustable pitch braces, their lengths can easily be
adjusted (3”) three inches (76.2 mm) in either direction, or a total of (6”) six inches (Anon. a, 2009).

Changing the pitch brace length (1”) one inch (25.2 mm) is roughly equivalent to changing the rake angle
(1º) one degree. It should be kept in mind that adjustments are often just fractions of a degree and seldom
exceeds (2º) two or (3º) three degrees. Accordingly, pitch brace length adjustments seldom exceeds (2”) two
or (3”) three inches (Anon. a, 2009).

4 RAKE ANGLE AND OTHER PARAMETERS IMPACTING CYCLE TIME (CT) OF

ELECTRIC ROPE SHOVEL (ERS)

Cycle time of an electric rope shovel comprises of the following segments; digging which is covered
above in detail, swing to dump to off-highway-truck (OHT), dump and swing back to digging position. CT is
affected by parameters like rock density, rock swell factor, dipper fill factor, degree of bench blasting and
fragmentation, experience and skill of the equipment operator, and ERS’s design features and specifications.
Additionally, factors such as positioning the shovel relative to the bench, positioning the haul truck at the
bench, dipper type and design, dipper ground engaging tools (GET), dipper rake and tooth angle, swing angle
have great impact on the CT. Rated cycle time (rCT) of ERS is given for 90º swing arc.

Digging segment of the CT indicates the real time spent in bank, whereas, swing and dump segments
show the segments at which the material dug is transported and dumped to the hauler, (Patnayak et al, 2008).
Even if ERS is operating at a homegenous bank, the following factors may also affect its performance
(CT); the ERS operator’s technique and style, ERS type, dipper and GET design, digging trajectory, digging
position with respect to bedding plane etc, (Patnayak et al, 2008).

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Rake and tooth angle govern the way how dipper is filled, how much energy consumed to fill the dipper,
how the dipper is wornout and degree of dipper penetration. Rake angle is tuned by adjusting the length of
the dipper pitch braces. The dipper tooth angle is dependent to the dipper rake angle; when the rake angle is
tuned, tooth angle is automatically tuned, as well.
As a starting point, the rake angle in hard digging conditions should be between 57º and 59º ; whereas, in
medium digging, the starting point should be between 59º and 61º . Then, the rake angle can be fine tuned for
optimum performance according to material density and the quality and consistency of blasting It is
important to understand that the size of the tooth angle relative to the rake angle may vary with the dipper
style (Anon a, 2009).
The bigger the tooth angle, the higher the cutting action is. Because of this fact, the tooth angle is
generally tried to be adjusted as bigger as possible. The limit here is the optimum wear on the heel band of
the dipper, the wear and tear on the heel band should be kept at an acceptable level.
 International Black Sea Mining & Tunnelling Symposium
Uluslararası Karadeniz Madencilik ve Tünelcilik Sempozyumu
2-4 November 2016/Trabzon-Turkey
Cutting (digging) force is the resultant of crowd and hoist forces, and optimizing the both forces are the
duty of the ERS operator which usually rely on the skills and experience of the operator. Good operators
manage having optimum depth of cut at the bank. The balanced crowd and hoist forces prevent ERS stalling
and boom jacking and optimizes the digging hence improving the productivity.
The new generation ERSs have optimum digging optimizing hadware such as P&H OptiDig® device,
(Klink, 2015). This type of digital devices especially eliminates the possibility of BJK and stalling by
inexperienced and new operators. In order to optimize the digging forces, we have to understand the
definition and role of rake and tooth angle of the dipper on ERS digging mechanism.

Size of a dipper, rake and tooth angles are not the only factor affecting the output and CT of an ERS; the
other factors affecting are weight, shape (geometry) and GET of dipper, rock parameters (rock density, rock
swell factor, dipper fill factor), machine parameters (bail pull, crowd force) operator skill and experience,
swing angle, position of the shovel relative to the bank, dual or single-sided loading etc.

REFERENCES

Anon. a, 2009. Peak Performance Practices, Dippers, P&H MinePro Services, Milwaukee, USA.

Binns, D., 2015. Personal communications, Plymouth, England

Carter, A.R., 2008. GET Smart, Coal Age, June 2008, Vol.113, No.6, pp 44-46

Grant, I., 2015. Personal communications, Wigan, England

Klink, D., 2015. Personal communications, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Liedke, W., 2014.Personal communications, Frankfurt, Germany

Özdoğan, M., 2009. Yerkazar kepçeleri ve başarımını etkileyen değiştirgenler, Türkiye 21. Uluslararası
Madencilik Kongresi Bildiriler Kitabı, Antalya, Turkey, s.229-241.

Patnayak, S. & Tannant, D.D., 2005. Performance monitoring of electric cable shovels, International
Journal of Mining , Reclamation and Environment, Vol.19, No.4, pp 276-294.

Patnayak et al, 2008. Operator and dipper tooth influence on electric shovel performance during oil sands
mining, International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, Vol.22, No.2, pp 120-145.

Shi, N., & Joseph, T.G., 2005. Optimizing shovel dipper design for cutting soft rock and soils, Türkiye 19.
Uluslararası Madencilik Kongresi Bildiriler Kitabı, s.145-151.

Wood, A., 2015. Personal communications, Wigan, England

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