Tag Archive for: dredging

Customised Ladder and Underwater Cutting Wheel combination for ROHR-IDRECO

IJmuiden, the Netherlands – MOTAS Dredging Solutions has designed and constructed a customised Ladder plus Underwater Cutting Wheel combination for Rohr-Idreco. On the 5th of November, ROHR-IDRECO successfully launched the electrical dredger.

MOTAS Dredging Solutions designed and constructed the ladder plus Underwater Cutting Wheel (UCW), which will be used by the South American gold mining company. To increase throughput, the mining company required a new tool and a more efficient way of mining.

The integration of the UCW and the ladder into the ROHR-IDRECO dredger was done in close cooperation between the project management and engineering teams.

“The MOTAS Dredging Solutions design weighs 20% less compared to conventional Underwater Cutting Wheel designs”

(Barend de Wijn, MOTAS)

Soil expertise

Engineers at MOTAS Dredging Solutions have extensive knowledge of different excavating processes, required for different types of soil. With this knowledge, MOTAS Dredging Solutions is capable of providing the most suitable and cost-efficient solution for each mining and dredging application.

Hydraulic driven cutting wheel

During the design process of the cutting wheel, Senior Engineer Barend de Wijn noticed a compelling opportunity: “Conventional designs use electric motors and heavy gearboxes to drive the wheel, this new design has a direct drive from a hydraulic motor giving it a lighter, more reliable result”.

With a wheel diameter of 2.5 meters, the specification of the UCW is impressive. Furthermore the cutting knives of the wheel are fabricated from a wear resistant material resulting in reduced downtime. Provided with a 36 meter ladder, the UCW is able to mine at depths of up to 28 meters.

“We offer the entire process. From design and transport to installation and system integration. ”

(Georges Teheux, MOTAS)

The ladder

MOTAS built the entire ladder for this project. In order to maximise competitiveness,  MOTAS devised a way to do this as timely and as cost efficient as possible. The ladder was divided into 3 sections and shipped by regular container transport from The UAE to Germany. On arrival it was aligned and welded together. It underwent further quality checks before the final painting was applied. The whole transport took MOTAS under 5 weeks; from our location in the UAE until the arrival at the yard in Wesel, Germany.

Offering turnkey solutions in this way is an important distinction of MOTAS Dredging Solutions.

Specifications for this project

  • Underwater Cutting Wheel (UCW) 
  • A ladder of 36 m long
  • A wheel diameter of 2.5 m
  • Custom made  
  • Wear resistant knives
  • Direct drive by high torque hydraulic motor
  • Low spillage
  • Efficient logistics by sea and by road within 5 weeks
  • Co-operation with ROHR-IDRECO