Responsive service in the field is imperative to keeping machines running and operations producing and it is important to have skilled personnel to safely perform maintenance and repairs on large equipment and machines. Paralleling expert field service is the advanced equipment and tooling technology to help get the toughest jobs done safely and efficiently and L&H’s new portable field milling machine tops them all.
State of the art design increases safety and efficiency
L&H Industrial needed a new portable field mill for drilling and milling swing system mounting surfaces on shovels and similar equipment. They wanted something faster and with more precision and accuracy to complement their state-of-the-art shovel lifting system. After hundreds of hours of engineering designs based on specific needs, including safety practices and efficiency in setup, L&H custom manufactured an advanced mill – the first of its kind – with the latest innovations to meet industry needs. Features including a weld-free set up save time by eliminating welding of any fixtures to the center pin casting/forgings in order to set up the mill. The mill also operates by a cordless digital readout (DRO) controller, which keeps the operator away from the machine while running as well as provides digital data to review with customers both during and after the project.
The mill was put to use for the first time on a shovel outage in the Powder River Basin, milling the upper and lower rail pads on the carbody and revolving frame. L&H Industrial’s General Manager, Joel Christophersen, comments on the new portable mill: “Our new portable mill is a much faster and safer solution to past innovations in milling carbodies, revolving frames and other large radial surfaces. Set-up and the time it takes to complete the work is now proven to be 25% of what this work has taken in the past. This offers our customers a cost effective and safer alternative to other equipment for specific types of field milling.”