Like all good doctors, TyreDoctor is in the business of ensuring the health of its clients, with the overall goal of preventing serious injuries and waste of resources.
TyreDoctor specialises in OTR tyres for the mining and heavy earthmoving sector, with a strong presence in open-cut and underground mining operations across Eastern Australia.
Its work revolves around tyre and rim repair, testing, fitting, and supply, as one of Australia’s two largest independent distributors of Michelin, Maxam, Yokohama, Goodyear, and other major OTR brands.
OTR tyres are serious business. TyreDoctor specialise in 45-inch and larger – focusing on 57 and 63-inch dump truck tyres.
At 4.5m in diameter, one tyre weighs 6-tonnes, which includes 2-tonnes of stainless-steel cord. An in-depth understanding of tyre engineering is crucial to repairing OTR tyre ‘injuries’ while maintaining the structural integrity of the tyre.
TyreDoctor’s unique repair methods, developed in-house over decades, are focussed on retaining or restoring the integrity of the tyre structure to ensure that the full life of the tyre is realised, maintaining the customer’s bottom line and decreasing significant capital expenditure.
Prevention is better than cure
Tyres are the second highest consumable cost for a typical mining operation, after fuel.
Given the sheer value of tyre assets and the direct impact on production rates and downtime, real-time monitoring and management of tyres is a critical function on any significant mining operation.
TyreDoctor work in partnership with site tyre maintenance teams, performing regular preventative maintenance inspections in person to catch ‘injuries’ before they develop into structural damage, preventing costly tyre failures and interruptions to production operations.
Despite a robust manufacturing process, mine site conditions make the strongest tyre vulnerable to damage.
Rubber compounds soften significantly with the heat generated by friction of movement, and water acts as a lubricant for any object penetrating rubber.
Consequently, a relatively small rock becoming lodged between dual tyres on a rear axle, or impact from the contact with the end of a windrow, can cause significant injury or even puncture both tyres – especially in the wet – a significant and expensive incident.
The science of tyre repair
As soon as a tyre “injury” is detected, the TyreDoctor team get to work repairing and restoring the integrity of the tyre so that it can be put back into service.
Having to scrap a tyre worth anything from 30-60 thousand dollars with 50pc tread remaining is a proposition that any company would prefer to avoid.
TyreDoctor use their proven repair techniques and experience to ensure that every tyre can be used for its full tread life whenever possible.
TyreDoctor’s tyre repair methods are based on a deep understanding of tyre construction and the chemistry involved in rubber compounds and an engineering approach that allows its technicians to work safely and efficiently.
The company uses a combination of specially designed repair hoists, highly trained technicians, and unique knowledge of rubber compounds to achieve results that are the industry benchmark.
Ultraclass tyres are made with combinations of rubber compounds layered throughout the different areas of the cross-section, formed around a complex “skeleton” of stainless-steel cord.
If an injury reaches through the skeleton of steel cord it is said to have penetrated the tyre, and the type of repair required is determined by the compound layers penetrated and the number of cords damaged or severed.
Regardless of whether the injury has physically penetrated the inner lining, the tyre is now weakened to the point where it could fail at any time, and a blowout under load is likely to actually destroy the tyre.
Where there is extensive damage to the steel cords, some repairers will punch a slot completely through the rubber and steel cord and then rebuild the damaged area with specialised patches to create an “exoskeleton” of sorts in the area of the severed cord structure.
A unique approach
TyreDoctor have a different approach, which they have developed by working closely with tyre engineers and with rubber compound manufacturers over two decades.
For TyreDoctor, maintaining the original structural integrity of the tyre is paramount, so they’ve developed methods and specialised machinery which enables their technicians to work within and around the cord ‘skeleton’ of the tyre, repairing the damage from the inside and the outside for a structurally sound repair.
‘Green’ (uncured) rubber in various compounds is used to rebuild the injured area following as closely as possible the original engineering of the tyre, before being vulcanised (cured) to give the rubber it’s strength and the required coefficient of friction.
Vulcanisation is completed in-situ on the repair hoist to eliminate movement of tyres during the repair process, and technicians shape the external surfaces of the repair to match the original before the tyre is returned to site.
Handling OTR tyres weighing up to 6t in the repair process requires careful management of safety risks and specialised machinery.
TyreDoctor uses specially designed electronic hoists with hydraulic lift, powered conical tines and failsafe locking mechanisms to hold, raise, lower, and rotate tyres during the repair process.
These hoists provide a safe and ergonomically sound working environment for the tyre repair technicians and ensure careful handling of the tyre itself, whilst allowing TyreDoctor to make use of the physical construction of the tyre to perform a structurally sound repair without compromising the steel ‘skeleton’ of the tyre itself.
This enables TyreDoctor to repair ‘outsize’ sidewall injuries that would generally otherwise mean a tyre had to be scrapped regardless of remaining tread-depth – a very significant cost for the operator.
Service Beneath the Surface
Tyres and wheels for underground mining have very different operating environments and handling requirements – including that all tyres must come to site on the rim and cannot be fitted or unfitted on site.
TyreDoctor has more than 25 years’ of experience in tyre repairs for the underground mining sector and now provides a full-service supply, fitting, and repair solution for several large underground mines in NSW.
They also have a substantial ‘solid-filling’ operation specifically for underground auxiliary machinery tyres – jumbos, agitators, I.T.C’s etc – and provide all related valving and consumables.
TyreDoctor provides their customers with industry turn-around times averaging 14 business days, site-to-site, including tyre repair, rim testing and rim repairs.
One major factor in achieving this is TyreDoctor’s policy of owning and operating its own, dedicated transport fleet, which gives the company full control of service and transport times.
The fleet includes custom “stand-up” trailers which allow Ultraclass tyres (57” and 63”) to be transported without the extra cost and restrictions of oversize loads.
Specialised Tyre Handler equipment hire
A specific focus on the tyre service and maintenance needs of mining operations has led TyreDoctor to introduce a specialised hire division, providing Ultraclass Tyre Handlers for short and long-term rental to the resources industry.
Established earlier this year with 2 fully refurbished machines handling up to 57” and 63” tyre and wheel combinations.
TyreDoctor began life in 1986 as an agricultural tyre repair service in the NSW Riverina.
Today the company operates across NSW, Queensland, South Australian and Victoria, servicing major mining operations in the Hunter Valley, Bowen Basin, Central Western NSW, and outback SA from workshops in Leeton, Singleton and Mackay.
The second generation family company applies long experience, in-depth training, and a personal care factor to every aspect of their operation.
Staff are fully trained in-house and gain broad experience on the factory floor before moving into management positions, which ensures quality and pride in the job, and a consistent level of performance across all TyreDoctor workshops.
More information:
TyreDoctor
1800 897 336
[email protected]
www.tyredoctor.com.au
