HI. Draw a Network
- iarmstrong
Using the layers and blocks as a reference, in the Network tab draw in a road network upon which the truck fleet will run.
Importing Pits and Dumps
To be able to schedule the mining operation, you will need to simulate the transport network as on your mine site. To do this, you need to draw the roads connecting the pits to the waste dumps, stockpiles and other components. When you are doing this from scratch, you need a reference, such as Design Surfaces and Blocks created in Rapid Reserve, or other scheduling software.
Importing Surfaces and Designs
Use the Overlays panel to import Pit and Dump designs and topo surfaces.
To add layers in the Overlays panel, use the blue plus icon.
In the import window that opens select the applicable files in supported formats.
When dealing with larger surfaces, after you have confirmed the files to be imported, a dialogue box will appear asking you to specify the triangle count and the decimation method.
To store data more clearly, we always recommend organising files into folders with self-explanatory names.
You can change the order in which folders and their items are displayed by dragging and dropping them. The place of insertion is pointed by blue arrows.
Use the eyeball toggle to show/hide designs display in the Viewport.
For more information on using the Overlays panel tools, see the UI. Layers/Overlays panel section.
Importing Blocks
Importing Blocks from Alastri Inventory Model
To import blocks created in Rapid Reserver, in the top toolbar select Import > Scheduling Blocks from Alastri Inventory Model.
Locate the folder where .invModel file is stored.
Note that it has to be exported from RR > Designer > Export > From Project > Alastri Inventory Model.
You will be prompted to provide Root Name, Travel Level in Tree (bench level hierarchy), Travel Alignment (top or bottom of block) and Block Type (Source or Destination).
Imported blocks will appear in the Blocks panel at the bottom left.
Importing Blocks from Block2D/Block3D/Zip
To import blocks created not in Alastri native format, in the top toolbar select Import > Scheduling Blocks from Block2D/Block3D/Zip.
Locate the folder where .block2d/.block3d/.zip file is stored.
Instructions on how to create zip file with blocks see in the section HI. Create Block .zip File.
You will be prompted to provide Root Name, Travel Level in Tree (bench level hierarchy), Travel Alignment (top or bottom of block) and Block Type (Source or Destination).
Imported blocks will appear in the Blocks panel at the bottom left.
Importing Blocks from Scheduler
When querying a haul from Scheduler (Alastri Tactical/Production Scheduler), you can import blocks directly from the scheduling software.
Make sure that relevant Inventory Model is uploaded, or Rapid Reserver is embedded.
Run through the setup steps of the Reserves group of tasks (at least to the Waste Dumps setup step in ATS and Periods in APS), and in the top toolbar select Schedule > Import Blocks from Scheduler.
Imported scheduling blocks will automatically appear/update in the Blocks panel at the bottom left.
Drawing Roads
Draw roads to connect all imported blocks to the road network.
Connections are made when passing through the travel RL.
There are different ways you can do this:
Display the design and trace over the centerlines, or
Use the solids to have a visual feel as to where the connections (autojoins) been made.
Draw Segments tool
To draw a ramp, display your pit blocks from below. This way you will immediately see how the isolated blocks become connected (painted green in viewport and marked with green tick in the Blocks panel on the left).
Show Mouse Text (from the toolbar) and when drawing networks on ramps check a tooltip and make sure the slope is not too big.
Snap Mode
Snap to points on the network (<Q>).
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Snap to surface model (<W>).
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Snap to constant elevation (<E>)
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Draw Assistance
These tools may be used to draw roads when there is no existing design.
Adds a vertical offset to the drawn segments.
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Adds a gradient to the drawn segments.
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Draw + Ctrl + left click | Open a coordinate menu for absolute and relative coordinates. |
Importing Segments
Segments can be imported from CSV or from DXF files.
Instructions on how to import segments see in the HI. Import Segments section.
Imported segments have DataSource as a name of the file they’ve been imported from,
Drawn segments will have “Drawn” as DataSource and default name “Created by <name of the user>
To determine which segments are which, in the Segments tab on the left drag the “DataSource” field from the Available Fields to the Grouped Fields panel.
Segments DataSource is also shown in the Grid tab.
Nodes
Once your base network is done, you can add nodes of your site components, such as Stockpiles, Crushers, Entry/Exit of Benches and Lifts and WayPoints.
Adding Nodes
Creating a node is as simple as right clicking a point on the network and selecting "Promote Point to Node".
The corresponding node centroid will appear at the selected point.
Select the added node and in the Properties panel, rename it from the default "New Node" to an appropriate name according to the naming convention, ie “Stockpiles/<StockpileName>”, “Crushers/<CrusherName>”, “Dumps/<DumpName>”, etc.
Nodes must have the same unique name in all projects and documentation.
If you are processing a schedule, the nodes must have the same name as the schedule sources and destinations.
If you are interfacing with dispatch, the nodes must have the same name as they are called in the fleet management system.
Defining Sources and Destinations
Typically, these represent Pit centroids, Dump centroids, Stockpiles and Crusher bins.
Node |
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| Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bench Exit
| Exit point from the pit level (bench). Useful when you have no blocks but have a pit design where you can place these exit points at each given elevation. More details see in the section HI. Node Exercises. | Source | - | |
Lift Entry
| A point representing the entrance to the dump level (lift). Useful when you have no blocks but have a dump design where you can place these entry points at each given elevation. Use these to add reference point dumps, for example when dump designs are not available for the overflow dumping locations. More details see in the section HI. Node Exercises.
| - | Destination | |
Stockpile | Material storage/rehandle point. Stockpile nodes are the only ones that can act both as a Destination (to move material from the pit) and as a Source (from where the material will be sent for further processing (Crusher) or dumping) | Source | Destination | |
Crusher | A node representing a material transformation/crushing point. | - | Destination | |
Waypoint | Waypoints are a way of breaking a long haul into a series of smaller hauls. This is useful for instances where we are interested in the time and distance spent in a particular area, such as in-pit vs. ex-pit haulage. More details see in the section HI. Waypoints. | There are neither a Source nor a Destination | ||
Nodes display
Color and size of the Nodes can be modified in the Display tab > Entities panel.
Nodes labels settings, such as Font, Size, Position, Fore Color, Back Color, X and Y, can be also customised in the Display tab > Labels panel.
For more information on how to deal with the Nodes, as well as examples and practical applications, see the sections HI. Node Exercises and HI. Network tab > Blocks tab section.