Becker Mining South Africa supplies uninterruptible power supply systems
May 2020
News
Becker Mining South Africa has supplied 12 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to a local coal mine supplier, to enhance safety and prevent unnecessary downtime. These specially designed systems ensure uninterrupted operation of the mine’s PLC system, particularly during power outages.
“This system was developed by Becker Mining as a dependable power backup system for the PLC system, which controls critical functions at the mine,” explains Nico de Lange, vice president operations & systems, Becker Mining South Africa. “These operations include all conveyer belt safety systems, gas monitoring, as well as speed, slippage and load control instrumentation. In the event of a power outage, the PLC would not be able to function without the backup of a reliable UPS system. The interruption of belt system and sensor monitoring would prevent normal operations and lead to costly downtime and could also become a major safety issue.”
During a power outage, the UPS system needs to supply the specified load, to ensure the electrical system continues efficient operation, for a specified time period. In this particular project, the 3,5 kVA; system, with a two-hour backup time, has been designed to supply a full load current of 15 A at 220 V. This ensures the PLC system, with multiple outlets, runs efficiently even in the event of a power failure.
As this PLC system consists of many electronic devices, a pure sine wave is required to reduce induced electrical noises generated from the circuit. Without this critical feature, electronic components could malfunction and become a major safety risk, also causing costly downtime.
The enclosures of Becker’s UPS systems have an ingress protection rating of IP65, which guards against the ingress of dust and jets of water. This protection feature is particularly important in arduous underground conditions.
These inter-connected UPS systems, with Ethernet and RS-232 connectivity, can be remotely managed and monitored from the control station. This means in the event of a system failure, critical decisions can be made to prevent a disaster or unnecessary downtime.
Further reading:
Schneider Electric to become Official Energy Technology Partner of McLaren Racing
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric will become the Official Energy Technology Partner of McLaren Racing.
Read more...
Closing the skills gap: how WearCheck training boosts asset reliability
Wearcheck
News
Condition monitoring specialist company, WearCheck is tackling the skills gap head on, offering a wide range of practical, hands-on courses that cover various topics related to condition monitoring and maintenance.
Read more...
Young SA scientists awarded medals at IRIS Global Symposium in India
News
Young local scientists have been awarded gold and silver medals at the recent Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM global symposium in India, where they displayed their scientific brilliance.
Read more...
60 day reduction in Kriel outage earns Eskom innovation award for Steinmüller Africa
News
Steinmüller Africa’s crane-free rigging solution has shortened the Kriel Unit 6 outage by 60 days, earning the company’s site team the 2025 Eskom Kriel Managers Award for innovation.
Read more...
Buyout model for solar investment
News
Sustainable Power Solutions has introduced a buyout model that converts existing solar and battery systems into immediate capital for South African businesses.
Read more...
Innovation award for Beckhoff’s XTS machine
Beckhoff Automation
News
The Premio Innovazione award has confirmed that Tetra Pak’s Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper has achieved a machine solution that pushes the boundaries of conventional packaging lines with a highly dynamic mechatronic solution based on XTS technology from Beckhoff.
Read more...
Vision meets reality at the Africa Automation Indaba
News
At the Africa Automation Indaba 2026, the panel ‘Automation for Africa – Opportunities, Challenges and Next Steps’ will feature a rare, high-level exchange where technology, ethics, entrepreneurship and data-driven reality shape what comes next for the continent.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: A tool not a crutch
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
Every year, the dictionaries try to summarise a year of human behaviour with a single word, the word of the year. You can question the value of this, but it’s quite entertaining. Words are important,
...
Read more...
Timken funds Kids Haven STEM classroom
News
A bright new chapter in digital education has begun at Kids Haven with the official opening of a fully equipped STEM classroom at the Kids Haven Village. This exciting addition was generously donated by Timken South Africa and expertly installed by Breadline Africa.
Read more...
Technology trends that will and won’t shape 2026
News
A whitepaper by ABI Research shows that a clear trend is taking shape, and 2026 is set to be characterised by practical, outcome-driven change.
Read more...
printer friendly version