Michelin North America Inc. made a big splash on the second day of the 2012 MINExpo International trade show, which ran Sept. 24-26 in Las Vegas, Nev.
The company unveiled three Michelin tires at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Enhancements to its Michelin Earthmover Management System (MEMS) also were announced.
* XDR2. Designed for use on rigid dump trucks, the tire "makes them safer while enabling users to improve their productivity and optimize their environmental performance," says the company.
The improved safety of the XDR2 tire is due to three factors:
1. Two million hours of tests to ensure its reliability.
2. MEMS, "which helps to optimize the conditions in which tires are used."
3. The tire’s enhanced resistance to cuts and scrapes, which reduces tire-damage incidents.
The productivity gains include "superior" resistance to cuts and scrapes; a longer tread life than Michelin's previous generation XDR tire; and more resistant casings and bead wires.
The new Michelin XDR2 is available in the following sizes: 27.00R49, 33.00R51, 37.00R57, 40.00R57, 53/80R63, 56/80R63 and 59/80R63.
* XMine D2. The new version of the multipurpose tire used in underground mining or heavy-duty extraction operations and low-speed transport in difficult conditions.
In 2012, the XMine D2 integrated B2 technology into its construction, "which has made it safer and longer lasting." The load capacity has also increased to two stars; when a tire’s rating is raised from one to two stars, "this means that its load capacity has increased by up to 24%, depending on tire size."
The new MIchelin XMine D2 with B² technology is available in the following sizes: 26.5R25,29.5R25, 29.5R29 and 35/65R33.
(The Michelin XSMD2+ is also available with B2 technology for sizes 26.5R25 and 29.5R29.)
[PAGEBREAK]* XTXL. The new earthmover tire is designed to meet the demands of underground mining, which requires machinery to operate in extremely arduous conditions of use. "Space for maneuvering, loading and unloading is restricted and poorly ventilated, temperatures are high, and driving conditions are precarious because of bumps, holes, rubble, various deposits and sometimes water," says Michelin.
It can support transport equipment with up to 60-ton load capacities, and is ideally suited for the latest-generation underground mining dump trucks, such as the Atlas Copco MT6020 and Caterpillar AD55B.
The Michelin XTXL is available in size 35/65R33. Additional sizes will be offered in the future for a wide range of underground mining transport machines.
* MEMS Evolution 2. Michelin unveiled several updated features to MEMS, which provides mining operators with data about tire usage conditions such as temperature and pressure.
Michelin says MEMS Evolution 2 "is a more high-performance, connected, efficient version of the original MEMS system." It uses a latest-generation TPMS sensor as well as new, improved system software.
The new version provides benefits including direct access to data regardless of where the vehicle is located in the mine; user-friendly interface for operators and data analysts; and wireless, more powerful software and communication system.
Among the newly added functionalities is a new interface that enables real-time tire monitoring for an entire vehicle fleet.
