To the untrained eye it looks rather like it has been through a cave-in and come out the other side.

To those in the know, it is actually par for the course. It gives an idea of just how hard the life of a bolter-miner is.

These machines are quite capable of being brought back to life.

The one here is an MB series machine and part of Sandvik’s offering to its customers is to rebuild these machines to original equipment manufacturer standards.

In fact, the rebuild work is actually better than new because the Sandvik technicians put in the latest technology available – not just what the machine came with.

Published in the June 2014 International Coal News Magazine

To show how effective the service is, the inset is an “after” shot of an ABM25 machine. The ABM series dates back to the 1990s, making it much older than the MB series.

These days all MB series bolter-miner rebuilds – and ABM rebuilds – are done at Sandvik’s rebuild facility at Heatherbrae, north of Newcastle in New South Wales.

The bulk of the rebuild work is done by Sandvik technicians, including the initial mechanical strip down, engineering, electrical systems, gearboxes, components, bolting systems and upgrades, followed by reassembly, function testing, commissioning, painting and detailing. Also included in the rebuild process are update Link1 parts manuals, revised and updated documentation, operator and maintenance crew training and plant safety files.

Sandvik underground coal mechanical cutting overhauls project manager Tony Robertson said the Heatherbrae facility could carry out six full machine rebuilds a year.