Longwall USA 2007 will be held June 5 to 7 at the David L Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

On show will be the EL62, DBT’s latest high-powered shearer ranging arm for the Electra EL2000. The shearer is designed for low to medium seams from about 55in to 138in (1.4–3.5m) and features cutting power of up to 1005hp (750kW) per arm.

DBT will also cater for the thin seam market with its “Reisshaken”, or baseplate plow, suitable for seams as low as 23in (0.6 m). At the show, DBT will exhibit its latest model complete with line pans and special shields – with a closed height of only 550mm.

Addressing wear issues on equipment, DBT will display its PF 6 robot-welded hybrid line pans which combine the benefits of welded and cast pans.

The PF 6 has a 1in (25mm) baseplate onto which the top race is welded. DBT said robot welding ensured standard high-quality welds that can be removed when the top trough is worn out, allowing quick and economical replacement of the trough and tripling anticipated service life of the baseplate. This face conveyor can handle up to 8818 tons per hour (8000 tonnes per hour) over and up to 1650ft (500m).

Able to lift and carry 50 tons (45.4 tonnes) 60in (1524mm) from the fork face, show attendees will no doubt be impressed with the capacity of the VT 650 shield hauler. The battery-powered shield hauler features two 50hp (37kW) dual-field DC motors developing up to 97,450lbs (44,197kg) of tractive effort.

The VT 650 battery pack has a capacity of 2000Ah, allowing more than 800 tons (726 tonnes) to be moved per battery charge.

For both longwall and room and pillar mines, DBT will exhibit its newly released CEMA-E LW Series rolls.

The new roll has a patent-pending lubrication system – the Idler PAL (Positive Automatic Lubrication) – and features a spring-loaded compensator disc which allows grease expansion when hot and compresses grease as the bearing cools.

The tapered roller bearing retention method positions the bearing and ensures consistent reproducible end play. In an industry first, each roll is triple tested and engraved with a unique identifier.

The patent-pending Power Chain will also be on show. The arc-shaped wide cross-section of the flight bars allows a low-profile line pan, while the special shape of the chain provides a large running surface where required, drastically reducing surface pressure and chain-joint wear, DBT said.

The Power Chain 42 x 140 (on display) has a breaking force of 2370kN, the Power Chain 52 x 175 of 3610kN.