Solving the Challenges of Difficult & Dangerous Bull Stud Changeouts

In 2017, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) was experiencing significant maintenance cost blowouts due to excessive time and resources needed to extract seized ball studs on their Caterpillar haul truck fleet. The ball studs in the steering arms of these trucks had effectively become welded in position due to the harsh and dusty work environments. Removing them for routine maintenance required a lot of effort and posed a potential danger of damaging other steering components around the ball stud.

How We Reduced Maintenance Times for Caterpillar Haul Trucks

To solve this problem, Geographe developed a patented Ball Stud Removal Tool (BSRT), a hydraulic pressing tool that could be operated by a single person in both workshop and field breakdown scenarios. The BSRT is made from a forged high-tensile alloy and undergoes rigorous heat treatment to ensure durability and reliability in high-stress environments. With the Geographe BSRT, the time and effort required to remove ball studs is significantly reduced, resulting in increased productivity and reduced downtime. The tool is currently applicable to suit the 785, 789, and 793 trucks, with an additional variant scheduled for release in 2024 to fit the 777 truck.

Improvement Factors

• Improves safety by limiting high-risk practices.
• Reduces effort and downtime significantly.
• Eliminates double shift changeouts.
• Adaptable to suit various CAT haul trucks.
• Portable and suitable for a single operator to use.
• Waterproof, customised wheeled Pelican TM case ensures easy transportation and secure kit storage.
• No electricity is required, allowing full adaptability to each mine site’s circumstances.