This project is for buckets used for removing earth when digging vertical ventilation shafts in mining.  The goal was to make the bucket higher-capacity and at the same time improve safety & usability. The buckets carried personnel in and out of the shafts and had to operate in the harshest of conditions. Using finite element analysis software to model and analyze the bucket, these design improvements were achieved successfully.

2005

 Photo credit: RG Johnson Inc.