MOTORS AND DRIVES
Driving down costs
Paul Moore reports on new products, partnerships and data access solutions in mining motors and drives
In mining, time is money so if there are any problems, quick action is needed, especially when it comes to fault diagnosis and their subsequent resolution. And the advantages of remote digital based solutions that form part of Big Data systems, also apply to mining drives. With Hägglunds InSight Live, Bosch Rexroth says it now provides plant operators with a solution that enables remote support for their in-house drives maintenance teams anywhere in the world.“ The Hägglunds InSight tool facilitates instant support through the use of Virtual Reality. With nothing but a rudimentary
Internet connection and a smartphone, tablet or laptop, the customer or Rexroth service Engineer on-site can get direct support from senior Rexroth product and application experts. The InSight Live platform is designed to work even with limited bandwidth and mobile connectivity and can provide a powerful virtual reality real-time support.”
The on-site service or customer engineer can contact the Bosch Rexroth service team and start the app, when they require on-site support.
The app establishes an immediate sound / image connection to the correct product or application specialist. With an appropriate type of service agreement, the specialists are available for all service related questions regarding Hägglunds heavy-duty drives. The specialists see everything the engineer sees and in return, by way of the intelligent platform, they can also superimpose their hands, tools, documents and diagrams on top of the image the engineer is displaying. By doing this the experts can show where the engineer can find the needed information and guide him through diagnosis and solution.“ Especially in remote areas, for example in raw materials extraction, diagnosis and the correct service actions can be
ABB’ s gearless conveyor drive, rated from 1 to 3
MW motor power, removes the need for a gearbox, thereby lowering maintenance costs while improving overall reliability leading to greater uptime
The Hägglunds InSight tool facilitates instant support through the use of Virtual Reality. With nothing more than an Internet connection and a smartphone, tablet or laptop, mining customers get direct support from Rexroth product and application experts
performed very quickly, reducing maintenance costs for the customer. Hägglunds InSight Live is a service tool specifically designed to drive down the customers’ risks and cost of ownership.”
Gearless for medium power conveyors
To date many of the gearless conveyor drive solutions have focussed on very large projects and applications. A new ABB permanent magnet solution, designed specifically for medium powered conveyors,“ provides high starting torque, reduced mechanical stress and fewer restarts. Improved reliability, fast installation, simple embedding and lower operational costs are the benefits of a new gearless conveyor drive( GCD) from ABB that combines permanent magnet( PM) technology with an innovative motor design.”
The pioneering GCD is advanced, lightweight and compact so that it can be shaft or footmounted and used with air- or liquid-cooling methods. Its heavy duty design is robust enough to deal with the shocks and vibrations associated with mining conveyor applications and its IP65 rating means it is totally protected from dust and water contamination.
“ ABB’ s permanent magnet motor GCD package offers all the advantages of a frequency converter using voltage source inverter topology combined with advanced PM technology, providing high flexibility and additional functionality specifically developed and customised for overland conveyors. Superior ABB products have been perfectly engineered to form a system package which meets highest performance and safety requirements.”
Among the challenges faced by conventional belt conveyors is the vast array of drive constructions; from mobile units, where motors are housed within the drive station’ s steel enclosure to stationary structures where the motor is footmounted on concrete foundations.“ Until today all of them use a gearbox which typically needs to be completely replaced at the latest after some 15 years. Gearless drives offer an industry-standard method of speed control. Apart from a simpler design,
NOVEMBER 2016 | International Mining 53