Driving Innovation in Product Design and Manufacturing Using 3D Printing �
A hydraulic cylinder, laying down the counterweight on the material bed, giving back on continuous bases, with an absolute encoder coupled to the drum: The RELATIVE LEVEL of the material to be discharged during the calcination process cycle of the Vertical PFR kiln( approx. 800 mm work range).
This system is currently operating in most of the plants in the whole lime domain, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Looking at the insights coming from the shaft level indicators, plant process engineers were able to ascertain that the traditional shaft level indicator was the first cause of unplanned downtime. They were surprised to see the money lost: averaging 20,000 € every year in production losses( calculation based on eight operating kilns worldwide having an average production of 400 tons per day). See Figure 2.
Figure 2- Screenshot coming from MOSAICO ZERO App related to Kiln Limestone Levels unplanned downtime
By applying innovative design changes to the traditional indicators and adding analytics capabilities, lime plants are beginning to transform an old industry into a brilliant industry.
3.2 Revolutionizing the Lime Industry with IoT Sensors Printed in 3D
Regardless of the approach selected to obtain better measurement results, success is based on process measurements. By adding new measurement capabilities and analytics capabilities, the adoption of the IIoT will move the lime industry into new levels of efficiency and productivity. As an example of one such IIoT development, Qualical has developed an improvement to traditional shaft level indicators with a simpler, more precise and reliable device to be installed on its kilns. Utilizing a new generation of brushless motor and connecting the drum directly to the motor, the
- 46- January 2017