Inden is a strip-mining site in the Rhineland brown coal mining district. The field is approximately 4500 hectares in size and its coal seams are up to 45 metres thick, lying as far as 230 metres beneath the earth’s surface. Bulkscan LMS511 laser volume flowmeter measures the bulk material on the conveyor belts and so varies the slew speed of the bucket-wheel excavator.
Laser measuring optimises material removal and enables driverless operation of tripper cars
Yard by yard, the swinging booms of the bucket-wheel excavators cut through the earth. The bucket wheel moves the excavated earth onto a belt located on the boom, from where it is transported to an overland conveyor system. RWE Power has installed a Bulkscan LMS511 above the first belt on the boom. The laser volume flowmeter quickly and precisely measures the profile of the bulk materials and, using the belt speed, calculates the current volume flow. “This value is used in the bucket-wheel excavator control in order to vary the slew speed, and therefore the output, so that the most uniform volume flow possible is ensured. The resulting avoidance of peak loads also reduces system wear,” says RWE Power’s Bernd Steyer.
The proper alignment and positioning of the tripper car is also ensured with the help of laser measurement technology. The laser scanners are attached to the structure of the tripper cars in such a way that a vertical scan of the overland conveyor’s belt frames takes place in both the front and rear areas. “The laser scanners on the tripper car ensure exact positioning relative to the overland conveyor system. An additional function is the accurate control of the tripper car ramp section height relative to the overland conveyor,” says RWE Power’s Manfredo Cammaleri.
Currently, the predecessors of the LMS511 are still in use on the tripper cars. However, the LMS511 devices are now being trialled on both the tripper cars and bucket-wheel excavator booms.
Enhanced automated weld inspection system
Sensors & Transducers
SmartRay is offering the release of new hardware for its weld inspection system, JOSY, delivering elevated performance and flexibility in the process.
Read more...Leaders in sensor technology Gail Norton Instrumentation
Sensors & Transducers
Photoelectric eyes have always needed perfect working conditions, but in the workplace there is no such thing. Steam, water, light and dirt interfere with most photoelectric eyes, but never with a Telco sensor.
Read more...Easy parameter setting of vision sensors ifm - South Africa
Sensors & Transducers
Contour verification and object inspection are two of the most important functionalities in industrial imaging. With the new O2D5xx series, ifm now offers a solution that perfectly masters both functionalities
Read more...Keeping a close eye on product quality and purity Endress+Hauser South Africa
Sensors & Transducers
Colour measurements are necessary in many processes to avoid product losses and ensure safe production and batching. The Memosens Wave CKI50 process spectrometer from Endress+Hauser is a compact, robust and process-friendly device allowing quality, batching and phase checks to be performed by a single instrument for the entire visible colour spectrum.
Read more...The sensory reaction of building management systems Schneider Electric South Africa
Sensors & Transducers
Today’s building management systems (BMS) cannot function properly without sensors. This is so critical that if sensors start failing, they can become ‘blind’.
Read more...Advanced sensor technology to reduce vehicle fatalities Senseca
Sensors & Transducers
Measurement technology plays a critical role across a range of industries. This is especially true when supplying highly accurate and reliable data for road management entities that assist drivers of vehicles experiencing hazardous weather conditions.
Read more...High-precision automated inspection
Sensors & Transducers
Delivering advanced inline metrology to an expanding range of challenging industries, SmartRay is launching the smallest field-of-view 3D sensor of its cutting-edge ECCO X series.
Read more...Long-range laser distance measuring sensor Vepac Electronics
Sensors & Transducers
The MS-100A is a long-range laser distance measuring sensor with a range of 150 to 1000 mm. This sensor excels in applications requiring extended measurement capabilities, such as quality control and logistics.
Read more...The power of smart maintenance for securing water supply Omron Electronics
Sensors & Transducers
The water industry plays an essential role in delivering safe drinking water and effective wastewater services to society and various industries. A lack of maintenance could have severe consequences, as even the failure of a single component can significantly impact operations, and maintenance expenses represent a substantial part of the overall costs of water and pumping systems.
Read more...Rotary atomisers for efficient paint spraying Instrotech
Sensors & Transducers
Painting the bodywork is an integral component of vehicle manufacturing. Keller supplied intrinsically safe pressure transmitters and intrinsically safe temperature sensors to a client producing paint robots for the car industry.