German Bucket Wheel Excavator: Revolutionizing Lignite Mining

The German Bucket Wheel Excavator is a game-changer in the world of lignite mining. It's a massive machine that can move a huge amount of soil and rock in a single day.

The excavator's massive bucket can hold up to 160 cubic meters of material, allowing it to dig deep into the earth and uncover lignite deposits. This is a significant improvement over traditional mining methods.

In the 1960s, the first German Bucket Wheel Excavator was built, and it was an instant success. It was used to extract lignite in the Lusatia region of Germany, where lignite is abundant.

The excavator's ability to move large amounts of material quickly and efficiently has made it a crucial tool in the lignite mining industry.

Bagger 288 is a massive bucket-wheel excavator, built in 1978 by ThyssenKrupp in Germany. It's a behemoth of a machine, weighing in at 13,500 tons.

The dimensions of this giant are staggering, measuring 220 meters in length, 46 meters in width, and 96 meters in height. That's equivalent to 721 feet by 151 feet by 315 feet in US units.

The Bagger 288 is powered by a whopping 16.56 MW of externally supplied electricity, making it a force to be reckoned with.

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The Bagger 288 is an impressive machine, but did you know that it has a rival? The Bagger 293, another massive excavator, was actually built after the Bagger 288 and is slightly larger.

The Bagger 293 has a slightly larger bucket capacity of 28.6 cubic meters, compared to the Bagger 288's 16.9 cubic meters.

It's worth noting that the Bagger 293 is also equipped with a more powerful engine, producing 4,000 horsepower, whereas the Bagger 288 has 3,980 horsepower.

The Bagger 293's larger size and more powerful engine allow it to move more earth, making it a formidable opponent to the Bagger 288.

The Bagger 288 is a massive bucket-wheel excavator, and it's hard to wrap your head around its sheer size. It stands at an incredible 96 meters tall.

Let's take a look at its dimensions: the Bagger 288 is 220 meters long and 46 meters wide. That's roughly the length of 4 football fields laid end to end.

Here are the Bagger 288's dimensions in US units for comparison: 721 feet long, 151 feet wide, and 315 feet tall. To put that into perspective, it's as tall as a 30-story building.

The Bagger 288 weighs a staggering 13,500 tons, which is equivalent to about 29.8 million pounds. That's roughly the weight of a small skyscraper.

The machine is powered by 16.56 megawatts of externally supplied electricity, which is a lot of juice. To give you an idea of its capacity, the Bagger 288 can move 6.6 cubic meters of material in a single bucket load.

Here's a comparison of the Bagger 288's blade volume capacity: 6.6 cubic meters is equivalent to about 8.6 cubic yards.

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The Bagger 293, one of the world's largest bucket wheel excavators, is an engineering marvel that showcases the precision and ambition of German engineering. It stands at an incredible 96 metres tall.

The Bagger 293 is powered by a combination of diesel and electricity, consuming a remarkable 19 megawatts of power. This allows it to shift a mind-boggling 240,000 tons of Earth daily.

Its bucket wheel is over 21 meters in diameter, with 18 buckets that can scoop up 15 cubic meters of material each. This impressive capability makes the Bagger 293 a true giant of the mining industry.

The excavator is 225 metres long and weighs an astonishing 14,200 tonnes. It requires five people to operate and can move 240,000 cubic metres or 218,880 tonnes of soil per day, the same as its counterpart, the Bagger 288.

The Bagger 288 and Bagger 293 are two of the largest bucket-wheel excavators in the world. They are used for removing overburden before coal mining at the Hambach surface mine in Germany.

The Bagger 288 is 220 meters long and 96 meters high, while the Bagger 293 is 225 meters long and 96 meters high, making them some of the tallest terrestrial vehicles in the world.

The Bagger 288 weighs 13,500 tons, while the Bagger 293 weighs 14,200 tons. Both machines require 16.56 megawatts of externally supplied electricity to operate.

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The Bagger 288 can excavate 240,000 tons of coal or 240,000 cubic meters of overburden daily, which is equivalent to a soccer field dug to 30 meters deep. The Bagger 293 can also excavate 240,000 cubic meters of overburden daily, but it can hold more material in each of its 18 buckets, with a capacity of 15 cubic meters per bucket.

Here's a comparison of the two machines:

The Bagger 293's bucket wheel is over 21 meters in diameter, making it one of the largest in the world. It can scoop up 15 cubic meters of material in each of its 18 buckets, and it requires a team of five people to operate.

The Bagger 288 and Bagger 293 are just two examples of the impressive engineering feats that can be achieved with bucket-wheel excavators. Their massive size and capabilities make them essential tools for large-scale mining operations.

Lignite mining is a significant application of BWEs, where they're used to remove soft rock overburden without blasting.

The primary demand for lignite has driven the development of BWEs, which now offer automated systems and greater manoeuvrability.

BWEs are useful in lignite mining for their ability to continuously deliver large volumes of materials to processors, meeting the continuous demand for lignite.

The reliability and efficiency of BWEs in lignite mining have increased with the addition of components designed for this specific application.

These advancements have made BWEs a crucial tool in lignite mining, enabling the efficient removal of overburden and the extraction of lignite.

The German bucket wheel excavator has a wide range of applications.

It's primarily used in large-scale mining operations, where its massive capacity and efficiency make it an ideal choice.

In open-pit mining, the excavator's ability to move massive amounts of soil and rock at a rapid pace is invaluable.

The excavator's size and reach also make it perfect for digging large trenches and canals.

Its advanced hydraulic system allows for precise control over the bucket wheel, enabling it to navigate complex terrain with ease.

The excavator's ability to work in challenging weather conditions makes it a reliable choice for mining projects.

It can operate in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 40°C, making it suitable for mining in various climates.

The excavator's massive size also makes it an excellent choice for heavy-duty demolition projects.

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