Engineering students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) are gaining a better understanding of conveyor systems, thanks to a joint initiative between international automation expert, Festo and specialist drive engineering company, SEW-Eurodrive. Festo installed a prefabricated conveyor system in July 2012, which forms part of a comprehensive workshop that simulates real-life scenarios for UJ mine engineering students.
Clive O’Reilly, product training specialist.
SEW-Eurodrive Drive Academy training specialist, Clive O’Reilly says that Festo asked the company to supply the Movitrac MC07B variable speed drive to electronically power the demo unit. “Festo Didactic supplied the prefabricated conveyor system to UJ as a complete mechanical plug-and-play unit. For the electronic drive option, SEW-Eurodrive wired the demo unit according to SANS 10142 regulations in terms of safety and electrical design. We also provided detailed electrical drawings and instructions to ensure functionality and we did the installation ourselves,” he says.
The demo unit was manufactured and commissioned within four weeks. Since its official establishment in South Africa in 2011, the SEW-Eurodrive Drive Academy has trained more than 500 people in the application of drive technology. O’Reilly adds that the academy has been involved in numerous initiatives similar to the UJ project. “We recently supplied a training solution to a large Malawi-based manufacturer that uses a number of standardised SEW-Eurodrive products. This comprised a training demo bench with all the standardised products used on the plant. In addition to the plug-and-play bench, we also included full product training on all the associated equipment,” he concludes.
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