“I then repeated the process for each of the other drive wheels, lifting them out of the sand. Each time a wheel came out, I placed a gate from the camel crates under each of them to act as bog mats. That’s pretty much where the Air Tip idea came from.”
Finding solutions for any situation or problem has always come naturally for Clarke, a geophysicist by trade. “I’ve travelled to some of Australia’s most remote mining sites doing mine exploration and a lot of those times I kept thinking about ways to address one of the biggest costs in the mining process – transport,” he explains. “I didn’t like the standard, bulky designs of most side-tippers on the market. In fact, I wanted to create a more efficient, less complicated design that would eliminate the use of a hydraulic system.”
After extensive researching and tests, Clarke devised a new and innovative, air-operated side tip trailer called the Air Tip, a monocoque design that increases strength, according to Clarke.
“The system operates using the same air pressure used for the vehicle’s brakes,” he says. “It uses compressed air at 110 psi, which also has OH&S and environmental benefits as opposed to hydraulic technology that requires much higher pressure up to 2000 psi. There’s no longer a need to use power take-offs, hydraulic pumps, oil tanks and hydraulic oil.”
According to Clarke, the Air Tip trailer can now deliver a payload increase of up to three per cent for the fleet operator. “It’s a significant leap forward for side tipping trailers used in transporting bulk materials by road, since the Air Tip technology can lower the tare weight of the trailer body to allow a significant increase in potential payload. In today’s business climate, these are important factors for both transport companies and end users,” he concludes
]]>The Air Tip transport trailer represents a quantum leap for side tipping technology used to transport bulk materials for road construction, mining, quarry work and farming.
The inventor, Clarke Petrick, is a geophysicist working in the mining industry however he grew up in a family transport business. He understands firsthand the dynamics of both industries.
He first came upon the idea to use air as a tipping mechanism working out bush with a truck with air suspension.
Mr Petrick noticed the ease of operation to raise and lower the vehicle. Taking this further he realised a major cost for the mine he was working at was getting material to port.
“The need to increase the efficiency of mine haulage to port became apparent to me when working on mine economics,” he said.
After three years of development the result is a smart, clean and light system which can be used on any prime mover.
The system uses the infrastructure already installed on the prime mover. It runs off a standard truck air compressor. The Air Tip trailer uses the same airlines as a standard trailer and takes approximately five minutes to charge the trailers for tipping.
He said once charged all the trailers, for instance triple road trains, can be unloaded at the same time.
“It’s a similar time for a single trailer as it is for multiple trailers, the difference from other systems is it can tip three trailers in the same time as one trailer,” he explained.
Air Tip’s bin and chassis have been integrated into one super strong unit giving it a monocoque design which saves on overall weight and adds strength to the system.
What the Air Tip doesn’t need is a Power Take Off (PTO) to operate the tipping mechanism. It also doesn’t need a hydraulic pump or the subsequent oil tank. This means much lower set up costs, maintenance costs and with the tare weight reduced the result is greater payload for operators.
“Initial savings include the price of a PTO for the truck and the costs in getting it and the oil tank fitted, which is approximately $12,000,” he said.
“Then you add in the maintenance savings of a hydraulic fitter of approximately $5000 a year.
“A one tonne additional pay load will lead to significant savings,” Mr Petrick said.
With the lack of extra equipment prime movers have the ability to work across numerous transport applications giving managers more flexibility in equipment operations.
“The ability to call in regular freight subbies to capitalise on larger short term contracts is a really big positive with having this simplified system,” he said.
On the environmental side he said with no possibility of a hydraulic spill this could save days per year of downtime on mine sites doing paperwork to explain the environmental issue.
He also pointed to safety increases as the operating pressure of the Air Tip system is dramatically reduced from 2000psi to just 100psi.
He said the system can’t be retrofitted to existing side tippers however Air Tip is manufacturing bins in Australia.
“We are keeping our manufacturing arm in Australia to be close to the operators working in our extremely harsh and demanding conditions so we can develop a product fit for the purpose,” he explained.
Mr Petrick said he was looking forward to exhibiting the Air Tip at the upcoming International Truck, Trailer and Equipment Show (ITTES) from April 3rd to 7th.
“I am inviting all operators to come to our exhibit at stand TSL10 on the Town Square Lawn and see how the Air Tip system can help you boost productivity in your business.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEDIA CONTACT
Boris Bosnich
Chief Operating Officer
E: boris@airtip.com.au
M: 0417 807 622
More information @ www.airtip.com.au
THE AIR TIP TRAILER IS UNIQUELY DESIGNED TO OPERATE ON AIR. ]]>