Published in the March 2010 Coal USA Magazine

Consisting of a roll holder mounted to a bolter’s temporary roof support, the system can replace 13 panels of steel wire mesh with one 75-pound synthetic mesh roll. Thirteen traditional panels, enough to cover a cut of 35 feet including roof and ribs, would weigh in at over 850lb.

JH Fletcher western US sales manager Bill Kendall said the goal of the design was to reduce injuries to workers who would normally lift the steel wire panels while standing in awkward positions.

“In addition to lower exposure to those types of injuries, the need for two people to lift and place panels against the roof for bolting is also reduced,” he said.

Special articulating arms and roof pads on the bolter are replaced by rounded versions that permit the mesh to be placed without snags. The 35ft-long tensioned mesh roll, which measures nearly the width of the entry, can then be lifted to the roof.

The roll is loaded before the bolter enters the cut, Kendall explained, by workers pulling the mesh over the TRS and clamping it into place.

“Once the bolter is in the cut and the TRS is raised near the roof, side tubes are extended, which tensions the mesh in both directions. The TRS is raised to the roof and the end of the mesh is bolted in place,” he noted.

After the TRS is lowered slightly from the roof, crews can then tram the bolter to the next row. The system has enough drag as the unit advances to maintain the needed tension in both directions without any additional handling.

Fletcher’s new mechanism can be retrofitted onto most Fletcher bolters for use in seams as low as 72 inches.