Abrasion |
Material erosion by rubbing of coarse, hard, or sharp materials. |
Accelerator |
A device for increasing the speed of a machine. |
Adhesion |
The ability of soil to stick to buckets, blades, and other parts of excavators. |
| Air Swivel | Blasthole Drill - The joint between the fixed air pipe from the compressor and the rotating drill head. |
Ambient Temperature |
The temperature in the area around the equipment. |
| Annulus | Blasthole Drill - The clearance in the drill hole between the drill pipe and the walls of the hole. |
Angling Dozer |
A bulldozer with a blade which can be pivoted on a vertical centre pin so as to cast its load to either side. |
Articulate |
To swivel or bend where the piece of the equipment's front and rear are joined together. |
Attachment |
An accessory to a machine. An alternate designation for the equipment added to the basic tractor, normally including the blade and a ripper or winch. |
Back Slope |
The sloping side of a ridge. |
Backfill |
The material used in refilling a ditch or other excavation, or the process of such refilling. |
Backhoe |
A hoe, pull shovel or excavator. |
Bail |
A yoke, or spreader, hinged to the sides of the shovel dipper, on which a hoist rope equaliser is mounted. Hoist ropes pass through the equaliser for hoisting the dipper. |
Ballast |
Heavy material, such as water, sand, or iron, which has no function in a machine except to increase weight. |
| Balling Air | Blasthole Drill - compressed air, which has passed down inside the drill string to lift drill cuttings to the surface. |
Bank |
Specifically, a mass of soil rising above a digging or trucking level. Generally, any soil which is to be dug from its natural position. |
Bench |
A working level or step in a cut which is made in several layers. |
| Bench Drilling | Drilling of blast holes for bench blasting, which is the simplest form of blasting. Characteristic for a bench is that it has a free surface at the front towards which the rock is blasted. Bench drilling can be carried out both over and under ground and drilling can be directed upwards, downwards or horizontally. |
Berm |
An artificial ridge of earth. |
| Bit Wrench | A blasthole drill plate used to hold a drill bit while it is being joined to or removed from other drill string components. |
Blade |
Specifically, the cutting edge of an implement; generally, the entire attachment such as the blade on a grader or dozer. |
Blast |
To loosen or move rock or dirt by means of explosives or an explosion. |
| Blasthole | A vertical drill hole 4 or more inches in diameter, used for a charge of explosives. |
Body |
The load carrying part of a truck or scraper. |
Boom |
A beam hinged in the deck front, supported by cables or hydraulic cylinders. |
Borrow Pit |
An excavation from which material is taken to a nearby job. |
| Box | The female end of a drill pipe. |
| Box Thread | The female side of API, IF, Beco or RH thread. |
Brake |
A device for slowing, stopping, and holding an object. |
Brake, Disc |
A brake which utilises friction between fixed and rotating discs, or between discs and shoes. |
Brakes, Friction |
A brake operating by friction between two surfaces rotating or sliding on each other. |
Brake Horsepower |
The horsepower output of an engine or mechanical device measured at the flywheel or belt usually by some form of mechanical brake. |
Bucket |
A part of an excavator or loader which digs, lifts, and carries dirt. Also may be called a dipper. |
Bulldozer |
A tractor equipped with a front pusher blade. |
Burden |
The volume of rock to be removed by the explosive in a drill hole. |
Cab Guard |
On a dump truck, a heavy metal shield extending up from the front wall of the body and forward over the cab. |
Cable |
Rope made of steel wire. |
Cap |
A detonator used to set off a blast, also called a primer. |
Capillary |
Held by or resulting from surface tension such as water in the soil. |
Car Body |
The travelling base upon which the shovel's upper and side frames are mounted. |
Carbonaceous |
Rich in carbon. |
| Carousel | The rotating components of a loader on a blasthole drill. |
Cat |
A trademarked designation for any machine made by the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Widely used to indicate a crawler tractor or mounting of any make. |
Catskinner |
Operator of a crawler tractor. |
Cellulosic |
Made from cellulose. Cellulose occurs naturally in fibrous products such as cotton. |
| Centralizer | A device to assist in alignment of drill steel in the mast on a blasthole drill. Primarily used for angle drilling applications or single pass machines. |
Centre Line |
A line marked in a roadway to indicate the centre axis of the road. |
Chain |
A series of links joined together. |
Cherry Picker |
A small derrick made up of a sheave on an A-frame, a winch and a winch line, and a hook, or a hydraulically operated robotic arm with a man basket. Usually mounted on a truck. |
Chock |
A block used under and against an object to prevent it from rolling or sliding. |
| Choke | Blasthole Drill - An adjustable restrictor for a down hole hammer (DTH) that sets the division of air flows between the hammer mechanism and the bailing air. |
Choker |
A chain or cable so fastened that it tightens on its load as it is pulled. |
Circle |
In a grader, the rotary table which supports the blade and regulates its angle. |
Circle Reverse |
The mechanism that changes the angle of a grader blade. |
Clevis |
A shackle. |
| Collaring | Starting a drill hole. When the hole is deep and solid enough to hold the bit from moving about, it is said to be collared. |
Colloid |
Consists of particles too small for resolution with an ordinary light microscope. |
Compaction |
Reduction in bulk of fill by rolling, tamping, or soaking. |
Compressor |
A machine that compresses air. |
Corrosion |
The wear or dissolving away of a material through chemical action, as by rusting, for example. |
Counterweight |
A dead or nonworking load attached to one end or side of a machine to balance weight carried on the opposite end. |
Crab Steering |
Position in which the front section and rear section of a motor grader are placed at an angle to the centreline. |
Crane |
A mobile machine used for lifting and moving loads without the use of a bucket. |
Crawler |
The track assemblies on which the machine rests and travels. One of a pair of roller chain tracks used to support and propel a machine, or any machine mounted on such tracks. |
Crawler Belt |
A series of individual links (shoes) connected with link pins to form a continuous belt upon which a machine is propelled. |
Creep |
Very slow travel of a machine or a part. |
Crowd |
Outward movement of the dipper handle in relation to the dipper handle axis (shipper shaft pinions) on the boom. The process of forcing a bucket or dipper into the digging or the mechanism which does the forcing. Used chiefly in reference to machines which dig by pushing away from themselves. |
Culvert |
A pipe or small bridge for drainage under a road or structure. |
Cutting |
Excavating, lowering a grade. |
Cutting Edge |
Replaceable steel plate mounted to the mouldboard of a motor grader that contact the ground. |
Decelerator |
Control which decreases engine rpm when activated. |
Decouple |
To separate or detach. |
Detent |
Mechanical stop in a throttle or accelerator control at which point fuel is shut off to the engine. |
Dewatering |
Removing water by pumping, drainage, or evaporation. |
Dieseling |
In a compressor, explosions of mixtures of air and lubricating oil in the compression chambers or other part of the air system. |
Differential |
A device that drives two axles and allows them to turn at different speeds to adjust to varying resistance. |
Differential Lock |
Mechanism that when engaged does not allow one side of the drive axle to spin. |
Dipper |
A digging bucket rigidly attached to a stick, arm, or dipper handle. |
Dipper Handle |
A name for the standard revolving shovel (dipper shovel), and for the straight shaft or shafts which connect the bucket (dipper) with the boom. See also Dipper Stick. |
Dipper Stick |
A name for the standard revolving shovel (dipper shovel), and for the straight shaft or shafts which connect the bucket (dipper) with the boom. See also Dipper Handle. |
Dipper Trip |
A device that unlatches the door of a shovel bucket to dump the load. |
Ditch |
A drainage course, generally following a natural contour. |
Dog |
A heavy-duty latch. |
| Double-Clutching | The procedure used to match input and output speeds of a transmission. It is used during gear changes. especially when downshifting. It is accomplished (downshifting) in the following manner: 1) depress the clutch pedal, move the gearshift lever into the Neutral position, and release the clutch pedal, 2) (with the transmission in neutral and the clutch released) increase the engine speed to match the speed the transmission main shaft and countershaft, 3) depress the clutch pedal and move the gearshift lever into the lower gear, and 3) release the clutch pedal. |
| Down-The-Hole Hammer (DTH) | Pneumatic powered rock drill. A chuck driver, drill bit, retaining rings and a foot valve for this type of rock tool make a very efficient drilling method. |
Dozer |
Abbreviation for bulldozer or shovel dozer. |
Drawbar |
In a tractor, a fixed or hinged bar extending to the rear and used as a fastening for lines and towed machines or loads. In a grader, the connection between the circle and the front of the frame. |
Drawbar Pull |
The pull a tractor can exert on a load attached to the drawbar. Depends on power, weight, and traction. |
| Drill Bit - Carbide | A blasthole drill bit having inserts of tungsten carbide. |
| Drill Bit - Coring | A blasthole drill bit that grinds the outside ring of the hole, leaving an inner core intact for sampling. |
| Drill Bit - Roller | A drill bit consisting of a pin shank, pin shoulder, bit leg including shirttail, three separate cones with cutter teeth, nozzles, and a stamped description. The three cones with rotating cutters roll as the bit is rotated. |
|
Drill Collar (Blasthole Drill) |
Thick walled drill pipe used immediately above a rotary bit to provide extra weight on top of the drill bit. |
| Drill Pipe | The sections of a rotary drilling string used to advance the drill bit or down-the-hole hammer (DTH) into the ground. |
| Drill Steel | Hollow steel connecting a percussion drill with the bit. May be referred to as drill rods. |
| Drill String | All rotating components connected together between the rotary head and drill bit. |
Drive Sprocket |
A drive roller with teeth that engage matching recesses or pins (bushings) in the track assembly. |
Drum |
A rotating cylinder with side flanges, used for winding in and releasing the cable. |
Ejector |
A clean-out device, usually a sliding plate. |
End Bits |
End portions of the cutting edge on a grader. |
Exploration |
The prospecting, diamond drilling, and other work involved in searching for ore. |
| Feed Cylinders (Blasthole Drill) | Hydraulic cylinder(s) used to feed and retract the drill string by means of a chain and sprocket or cable and sheave arrangement. |
Flexural |
Related to or the result of being flexed. |
| Flushing Medium (Blasthole Drill) | Water, mud, air or foam used to flush drilled-out material (cuttings) out of the hole. |
Float |
In reference to a dozer or grader blade, to rest by its own weight or to be held from digging by upward pressure of a load of dirt against its mouldboard. |
Friable |
Easily crumbled or pulverized. |
Friction |
Resistance to motion when one body is sliding or tending to slide over another. |
Front |
The working attachment of a shovel, as a dragline, hoe, or dipper stick. |
Front-End Loader |
A tractor loader with a bucket attachment at the front end of the tractor. |
Frost |
Frozen soil. |
Frost Line |
The greatest depth to which ground may be expected to freeze. |
Galvanometer |
An instrument used for detecting or measuring a small electric current by movements of a magnetic needle or of a coil in a magnetic field. |
Gantry |
An overhead structure that supports machines or operating parts. An upward extension of a shovel revolving frame that holds the boom line sheaves. |
Gear |
A toothed machine part that meshes with another toothed part to transmit motion or to change speed or direction. |
Gelatinous |
Resembling gelatin or jelly. |
Gooseneck |
An arched connection usually between a tractor and a trailer. |
Governor |
A feedback device on a machine or an engine that is used to provide automatic control, as of speed, pressure, or temperature. |
Grade |
The rate of incline or decline in terms of degrees from the horizontal. |
Grade Stake |
A stake indicating the amount of cut or fill required to bring the ground to a specified level. |
Grader |
A machine with a centrally located blade that can be angled to cast to either side, with independent hoist control on each side. |
Grizzly |
A coarse screen of iron beams welded into a grid shape used to remove oversize pieces from earth or blasted rock. |
Grouser |
Protecting lug(s) attached to or integral with the machine track shoes to provide additional traction. |
Hardpan |
Hard, tight soil. |
Heap |
The soil carried above the sides of a body or bucket. |
Hoe |
A shovel that digs by pulling a boom-and-stick mounted bucket toward itself (backhoe, pull shovel). |
Hoist |
To lift, or a machine that lifts an object. |
| Holding Wrench (Blasthole Drill) | A wrench tool fixed to the drill platform and used to hold drill pipe and subs to prevent them from turning when making and breaking joints |
Hub |
The strengthened inner part or mounting of a wheel or gear. |
Hydration |
To cause to be combined with water. |
|
Hydraulic Spool Valves (Stacker
Valves) (Blasthole Drill ) |
One inlet section, three sections up to eight sections and an outlet section may be used. The inlet section will have a relief valve for circuit protection. |
Hydrophilic |
Having a strong affinity to water. |
Hydrostatic |
Relating to liquids at rest or to the pressures they exert or transmit. |
Idler |
Large end roller of a track assembly at the opposite end from the drive sprocket; the roller is not power-driven. |
Immiscible |
Incapable of mixing. |
Inching Pedal |
Mechanism that, when engaged, disengages power from the engine to the transmission (also called a transmission modulator pedal or clutch). |
Injector |
In a diesel engine, the unit that sprays fuel into the combustion chamber. |
Inslope |
Portion of a slope that extends from the edge of the shoulder of a road to the bottom of the slope or the ditch that parallels the road. |
Jack Pad |
The jack pad is a metal plate attached to the lower end of each levelling jack assembly. The jack pad provides a large surface area on which the levelling jack can rest. |
Kill |
Cut off electric current from a circuit. Stop an engine. |
Leaning Wheels |
Front wheels of a grader which can be moved to either side from a vertical position to assist in turning or grading. |
Left Side |
Left side of the shovel is to the operator' left when the operator is seated at the controls and is facing forward with the attachment over the front of the lower frame. |
Lift Plug |
Lifting plugs are used to handle heavy equipment on blasthole drills such as hammers, stabilizers, and subs. Lifting plugs are manufactured with box or pin type connections. |
Loader
|
A rotating rack designed to hold drill pipes, positioned inside or outside the mast. |
Loader, Front-end |
A tractor loader with a bucket that both digs and dumps in front. |
Loader, Tractor |
A tractor equipped with a digging bucket that can dump into hauling equipment. |
Lock Control |
A locking device used to lock the centre pin on a grader. |
Lower |
The portion of the shovel on which the upper is mounted. It includes the car body, crawlers, swing gear, roller circle, and centre gudgeon. |
Lug Bolts |
Bolts that hold the wheel to the hub. |
Mining |
Usually removal of soil or rock having value because of its chemical composition. |
Mouldboard |
A curved surface of a plough, dozer, grader blade, or other dirt mover, which gives dirt moving over it a rotary, spiral, or twisting movement. |
Multi-Pass Drilling |
Drilling to such depth as requires the use of more than one drill pipe. |
Operator Cab |
The operator cab is an enclosed room in which the operating controls, indicators, and gauges are located. The machines operation is controlled from this location. |
Ore Pad |
An area designated to stockpile various grades of minerals prior to crushing or processing through a mill. |
Ore Rock |
Earth containing workable quantities of a mineral or minerals of commercial value. |
Outrigger |
An outward extension of a frame which is supported by a jack or block used to increase stability. |
Overburden |
Soil or rock lying on top of a formation. |
Overspeed |
Excessive engine speed. |
Overspeed Governor |
A mechanical speed sensitive device, that through mechanical or electrical action (operation of a switch), acts to shut down the engine and limit the speed by cutting-off the fuel and/or air supply should the engine speed exceed a preset maximum. |
Oxidize |
To combine with oxygen. |
Pad |
Ground contact part of a crawler-type track (shoe or plate). |
Pass |
A working trip or passage of an excavating or grading machine. |
Petcock |
A small drain valve. |
Pin |
The male end of a drill pipe. |
Pin Thread |
The male side of API, IF, Beco and RH tapered thread. |
Power Tong
|
The hydraulic tool fixed at the bottom of a drill mast, used to clamp and turn tight drill string components. |
Prill |
Material converted into spherical pellets. |
Propagate |
To cause to spread out and affect a greater area. |
Pit |
Any mine, quarry, or excavation area worked by the open-cut method to obtain material of value. |
Pneumatic |
Moved or worked by air pressure. |
Pulldown
|
The force used to press the drill string and bit against the bottom of the hole. It is controlled by the hydraulic pressure in the feed cylinders (up to the relief valve setting), and is related to the overall weight of the drill rig. The pressure at the bit will be the sum of the pulldown force plus the force exerted by the weight of the drill string. The term is also used to specify the pulldown force, which is available from a particular drill. |
Pumping |
Mechanical transfer of fluids, alternately raising and lowering a digging edge to increase the volume of dirt being transported. |
Pusher |
A tractor that pushes a scraper to help it pick up a load. |
Quarry |
A rock pit. |
Retarder |
Device used to slow the movement of a vehicle. |
Retract |
The mechanism by which a dipper shovel bucket, crane boom, or similar equipment is pulled out of the digging or pulled within itself. |
Right Side |
Right side of shovel is to operator's right when operator is seated at the controls and is facing forward with the attachment over the front of the lower frame. |
Ripper |
An accessory mounted on the rear of a dozer or grader to loosen soil and soft rock. |
Rock |
The hard, firm, and stable parts of the earth's crust. Any material which requires blasting before it can be dug by available equipment. |
Rotary Head
|
The hydraulically driven gearbox that turns the drill string. |
Rule of Thumb |
A statement or formula that is not exactly correct, but is accurate enough for use in rough figuring. |
Sand |
Loose, granular, gritty particles or worn or disintegrated rock, finer than gravel and coarser than dust. |
Scraper |
A digging, hauling, and grading machine having a cutting edge, a carrying bowl, a moveable front wall (apron), and a dumping or ejecting mechanism. |
Shift |
A work period. |
Shoulder |
The graded part of a road on each side of the road base or pavement. |
Shovel |
A digging and loading machine or tool. |
Shovel, dipper |
A revolving shovel that has a push-type bucket rigidly fastened to a stick that slides on a pivot in the boom. |
Shovel, revolving |
A digging machine that has the machinery deck and attachment on a vertical pivot so that it can swing independently of its base. |
Side Hill |
A slope that crosses the line of work. |
Single Pass Drilling |
Drilling which is completed using only one drill pipe. |
Slew |
To turn on an axis; rotate; pivot. |
Spalling |
To break off chips. |
Soil |
The loose surface material of the earth's crust. |
Spot |
To direct the exact loading or dumping place. |
Spotter |
In truck use, the man who directs the driver into a loading or dumping position. |
Stabilizers
|
A device to assist centering the bit in the hole, preventing hole deviation and providing equal weight distribution to each rotary cone. It is normally placed immediately behind the bit. Several stabilizers may be used in a long drill string. |
Steering Brake |
A brake which slows or stops one side of a tractor. |
Steering Clutch |
A clutch which can disconnect power from one side of a tractor. |
Stick |
On a shovel or backhoe, a rigid bar hinged to the boom and fastened to the bucket. See also Dipper Handle. |
Stoichiometric |
Quantitative chemical properties and composition. |
Strip |
Remove overburden or thin layers of material. |
Stripping |
Removal of a surface layer or deposit, usually for the purpose of excavating other material under it. |
Subbing |
Method of removing sublevel material from a road bed, usually in a soft spot. |
Subgrade |
The natural ground below a road. |
Swing |
In revolving shovels, function of rotating upper frame with respect to lower frame either to the right or left. |
Swing Angle |
The distance in degrees which a shovel must swing between digging and dumping points. |
Taconite |
A flint like rock with an iron content high enough to constitute a low grade iron ore. |
Tail |
The rear of a machine or vehicle. |
Tamp |
To fill up a blasting hole with material above the blasting agent to confine the force of the blast. |
Tandem |
A double axle drive unit for a truck or grader. |
Tilting Dozer |
A bulldozer whose blade can be pivoted to cut low on either side. |
Tooling |
Tools used to make and break drill string joints, e.g., auto tong, holding wrench. |
| Top Hammer | A rock drill which works on a feed slide. As the top hammer cannot enter into the hole, the distance between it and the drill bit increase, as the hole becomes deeper. |
Track Shoes |
The members of the track assembly that distribute the load to the supporting surface. |
Tractor |
A motor vehicle on tracks or wheels used for towing or operating vehicles or equipment. |
Tramming |
Propelling the machine. |
| Travelling Carrier (Blasthole Drill) | A support for the feed and hoist chains. Sprockets slide up and down by the feed (pulldown) cylinder(s) motion. |
UHV Up-Hole Velocity (Blasthole Drill) |
The upward speed of the bailing air in the annulus of the drill hole. Refer to air water velocity charts. |
Undercarriage |
An assembly that supports the upper structure of the machine. It consists of an undercarriage frame, a swing bearing, or hook and loading rollers, travel mechanism, and steering mechanism. The undercarriage may be either a crawler or wheeled type. |
V-Ditch |
A V-shaped ditch, usually cut on both sides of a road bed to allow drainage. |
| Water Injection (Blasthole Drill ) | Addition of a small quantity of water to the bailing air in order to suppress dust. |
Winch |
A drum that can be rotated so as to exert a strong pull while winding in a line. |
Windrow |
A ridge of soil pushed up by a grader. |
Working Cycle |
A complete set of operations. In an excavator, it usually includes loading, moving, dumping, and returning to the loading point. |