www.hofmannengineering.

com

Established 1969

News
2013 Edition 10

3 Alice Street,
Bassendean (PERTH)
Western Australia 6054
Ph: +61 8 9279 5522
Fax: +61 9 9279 9386
www.hofmannengineering.com
mail@hofmannengineering.com

Designing, Engineering, Manufacturing and Refurbishing Precision Equipment

WORLDS LARGEST FORGED STEEL GEAR

MADE IN AUSTRALIA, EXPORTED TO CHINA

Hofmann Engineering has provided a reminder of the

capabilities of the Australian precision engineering industry by turning out an eye-catching gear for use in China.
Manufactured at Hofmanns Bassendean facility, the
forged steel mill gear is believed to be the worlds biggest, boasting an external diameter of 13.2m and weighing 73.5 tonnes.
It will transmit 17,000kW when driven by two 9 tonne pinions, also made by Hofmann Engineering.
The completed gear set is bound for the grinding mill of
an unidentified copper mine in China.

The companys initiatives have included development of a

price competitive process to use forged steel for gearing,
enabling the company to make stronger, longer life products than made by conventional cast steel methods. In
addition to the 17,000kW double pinion SAG mill gear
shown in the picture Hofmann Engineering designed and
manufactured the most powerful single pinion ball mill
gear pinion set ever build. This 10.1m forged steel ball
mill gear for a Canadian mine is driven by a single
9,000kW pinion. By Holger Fritz

*Congratulations*
Congratulations to all staff who have reached milestone anniversaries with Hofmann Engineering, especially to:
25 years: Mark Hofmann; Emanoil Tataru-Sibu; Andy Sykes 20 years: Mylles Bates; Troy Freeman; Dan Coraga;
Val Lukjanowski; Chris Johnston; David McGladdery 15 years: Jamadagni Torvi; Colin Mackay 10 years: Raymon
Beattie; Brett Allender; Simon Woolford; Rudy Keswick; Jason Gallacher; Ashley Bernard; Martin Gonser; Peter
McEniery

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ALL BOGIED OUT

Hofmann Engineering Pty Ltd (Bendigo)

was awarded the contract for the supply,
fabrication, trial assembly, surface treatment, shop assembly and delivery to
Sparks Road in Henderson (Western
Australia) for two sets of Bogies and
Equalisers for ThyssenKrupp.
The project spanning over two years
utilised all three Hofmann facilities in
Australia with Bendigo and Metaltec
covering the bulk of the machining and
fabrication components. All of the components were then transported by road,
rail and sea to Perth where the team
commenced stage 1 of the assembly at
our Bassendean workshops. The completed sections were then transported to
Sparks Road for final assembly and
hand over to the customer.
The logistical requirements of the project as well as the vast amount of objective quality evidence logging required proved challenging to overcome.
All three facilities worked hard as a
combined team to achieve the end result. By Stephen Turner

BREAKING PARADIGMS IN SOUTH AMERICA

In February 2013 Hofmann Engineerings Service division located in Antofagasta
Chile was awarded a major gearbox overhaul of the complex 495HR hoist transmission. The contract was awarded by a major Chilean copper producer. This
transmission is one of the most complex gearboxes used in the 495HR Shovel
fleet and has seen several service challenges throughout its history. The decision
to award this rebuild to Hofmann Engineering was based on the current outstanding installed performance of Product Improved Hofmann Engineering transmissions. Due to the mine having 4 Hoist Transmissions at risk of failure a first priority
delivery was requested. Well supported by our team in Perth, Australia and Senior Supervisor Colin McCormack, our Chilean Technicians worked in conjunction
with the mine maintenance & reliability personnel to achieve the required delivery.
Achieving the required 45 day turn around proves Hofmann Engineering South
Sudamericas commitment to their customers in achieving complex rebuilds in
shorter lead times than the current market standard of 6 months. The upgraded
bearing design (from Australia) was incorporated in the Chilean rebuild to eliminate the known failure associated with this transmission throughout the Shovel
users world-wide.
By Aldo Tapia

Z FILTER Z05 PROJECT

Hofmann Engineering was recently involved with the complete design, Development & Manufacturing of Z05 Filtering machine Prototypes for Z filter Pty. Ltd, Canningvale,
WA.
Z-Filter is a unique system for transporting and processing
free-flowing materials. In its simplest form, it is an ideal de
-watering and filtering system, which is continuous and
self-cleaning.
Z05 machine is a compact, high-throughput system, easily
adapted for different applications, including minerals processing, algae & biological waste processing.
Hofmann Engineering has utilised its well developed design, development, Project Management & Engineering
expertise across all sites on this important project.
By Theo Lemonidis

Your Safety is Our Number 1 Priority

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FORGED STEELFABRICATED ECCENTRIC

Hofmann has been involved for many years in the repair
and refurbishment of Dragline Walking Eccentrics. The
knowledge and experience gained from repairing cracks
and building up worn surfaces and drive connections; in
conjunction with knowing the practical application, has
allowed Hofmann to design and build Fabricated Eccentrics using high quality forgings and positive heavy welding techniques.
The current design is applicable for the Marion / Bucyrus /
CAT brands of spline driven eccentric.
The eccentrics are designed by Hofmann, F.E.A. analysed
and 100% built in-house at Hofmanns Perth facility.

Through the use of Quenched and tempered, clean, quality forgings, and the interlocking hub to outer ring via full
penetration welding supplies positive, solid drive during
the Dragline walk application.
Hofmann also supplies the traditional Cast Version as well
Offering the full Eccentric services of:

New Cast

New Forged Steel Fabricated

Refurbish and repaired

Hofmann are your one stop alternative to keep you walking By Colin Mackay

HOFMANN BENDIGO - A NEW ADDRESS

Opening of Bushmaster Court (Left to right): Cr Barry Lyons, Thales

Australias Chris Jenkins, Deputy Premier Peter Ryan, and Hofmann
Engineerings Executive Director John Hofmann.

Hofmann Engineering established its Bendigo manufacturing plant in 2010 after taking over the former Bendigo
Ordinance Factory (ADI) Heavy and Precision Engineering Facility from Thales Australia. The remarkable progression has been recently capped off by the establishment of a new purpose built road, eight metres wide and
capable of carrying loads of up to 200 tonne. Named
Bushmaster court, the road was officially opened by the
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan on Monday 26th August, 2013.
Founding Directors John & Erich F Hofmann were on
hand for the cutting of the ribbon. Significant investment
in training and plant & equipment has enabled this site to
manufacture Mill Shells in excess of 180T and up to 13
metres diameter. Refurbishment and manufacture of
mining and defence components are of focus for the site.
Examples include the manufacture of a complete tub for
a Marion 8050 dragline (scheduled for completion in
2014) as well as shafts up to 35mts long & 1.8m diameter
for commercial and naval ships. By Sam White

The Hon. David HodgettMinister for ManufacturingVic (front 3rd from left) alongside Hofmann Directors
John Hofmann and Erich F Hofmann (4th & 5th from left) along with Hofmann Bendigo Employees

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HOFMANN SERVICE EXCHANGE

MINIMISING THE TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
Reacting to the market demand
through the tough economic times
Hofmann Engineering is providing
economical alternative service
exchange solutions for Mobile
equipment. Hofmann exchange
transmissions 340008 & 389117
for O&K, TEREX, BUCYRUS &
CAT hydraulic excavators enable
customers to minimize the total
cost of operating their mobile
equipment while maintaining peak
productivity and reliability. Over
the progression of a machines

lifespan components must be replaced in order to ensure

continued optimal performance. Within these transmissions key components are replaced with Hofmann product
improved and reconditioned parts which reduce operational costs without compromising quality. Fatigued and damaged components that are delivered to our rebuild facilities for disassembly and inspection are assessed against
Hofmann Engineerings precise reusability guidelines. All
reconditioned exchange components come with a sameas-new warranty, available on-demand to customers, reducing scheduled and unplanned downtime. Individual
parts that can be reused are assembled and tested to our
latest factory specifications and are ready to begin their
new life. By John Shaw

NEW CAT 7495 DIPPER HANDLE FOR SOUTH AMERICA

Hofmann Engineering now offers brand new
& refurbishments for your caterpillar Dipper
handles complete with retract and takes-up
mechanism. We are now in the process of
manufacturing a brand new handle for a
customer in South America adding to our
ever expanding parts list. This handle is
product improved to eliminate the typical
failure mode by accommodating a redesigned spreader and stop design. Other
notable product improvements are full penetration welding and blending of all high
stressed areas to AS1554 part 5. We have
used a specially designed and sourced
forged alloy tube with superior mechanical
properties. We strongly believe this will be
another success story once its in its home.
By Pradeep Palanisamy

VRM GEARBOX REPAIRS - CEMENT INDUSTRY

Hofmann Engineering recently completed a complete refurbishment of a 66 tonne VRM (Vertical Roller Mill) gearbox demanding High operational reliability & Very long
service life. These gearboxes are a critical piece of equipment for a cement mill operating 24/7 with only one annu-

al shutdown. Service lives of these gearboxes are paramount and our long-term experience in the field helped in
an incredible turn-around of this gearbox back to service
in high precision. This gearbox was tested in our state of
the art live test bed prior to despatch.
By Pradeep Palanisamy

Your Safety is Our Number 1 Priority

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