INTERCONNECTION


Connectors for digital mining operating in arduous environmental conditions


and for extreme applications The mining industry of the future is being built on considerable levels of connectivity of data as well as state-of-the art automation.


T


he benefi ts of Industry 4.0 through digitalisation of data from connected assets in the mining industry is profoundly infl uencing operational conditions. To enable near-real time decision-making, a digital mine needs to bring together complex data from across its assets distributed within its value chain. If implemented correctly, the rewards within the industry include increasing uptime of critical assets, considerably reducing costs and minimising operational risks.


The application:


Drill and blast operations are the fi rst processes which are highly complex and safety-critical parts of mining activities. In addition, mining operators are challenged with compressed cycle times and increased price pressure. Operators are working closely with mining equipment manufacturers to install instruments which collect raw data for carrying out diagnostics of any failures and then build on that dataset to predict what will happen for optimising its operations. For example, mining equipment manufacturers are gathering data on the rock mass surrounding the tunnel to get insight on the factors that affect probe drilling, grouting, rock reinforcement and, most importantly, safety. Various parameters being recorded by instruments installed close to the drill cutter are feed pressure, rotation pressure, and rotation speed, to name a few. Connectors are critical components in ensuring reliable transmission of data from the instruments. However, given


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instruments need to operate in arduous environmental conditions along with extreme operating conditions like high vibration, connectors are often the most delicate link, and in order to prevent failure by introducing ineffi ciency in the system, the most robust reliable interconnection products needed to be installed. Connectors equipped with hyperboloid contacts provide a high number of linear contact paths, as they are formed by hyperbolically arranged contact wires, which align themselves elastically as contact lines around the pin. Under high vibration, this feature helps avoid large deformation or stress on contact material leading to fatigue, wear leading to removal of plating material. Consequently, it leads to decrease in contact resistance. The surrounding environment of the connector contains pollutants including sulphides, chlorides, nitrates, hydroxides, or ammonium salt. Most atmospheric corrosions follow electrochemical mechanisms in nature and involve the interaction of absorbed moisture with various atmospheric gases at the metal surface, which will lead to fretting corrosion on the contact surface.


The challenge:


Mining equipment manufacturers struggle to demonstrate a reliable system to their customers when they attempt to install instruments. When operating in in arduous environmental conditions along with extreme operating environments like high vibration, standard products are not enough to provide a reliable


FEBRUARY 2024 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS


Figure 1 Mining operations (Shutterstock)


system that doesn’t fail every few hours.


The solution:


Smiths Interconnect pioneers design of connectors with the groundbreaking hyperboloid contact technology. This contact technology unlike all others available in the market was designed to operate in high mechanical shock and vibration prone applications. The position and angle of the wires in a hyperboloid geometry surrounds the mating pin. Each wire wraps itself around the pin, providing lines of contact along the pin, as opposed to a few discreet points of contact. Hyperboloid contact’s wires are designed to stretch elastically when the male pin is inserted, without plastic irreversible deformation, so they return to the original state after the pin is removed. This leads to


Figure 3Smiths Interconnect M23 Series for industrial applications


Figure 2 Hyperboloid Contact Technology


long contact life in high shock and vibration applications. The Hyperboloid contact technology has large surface area, which provides low contact resistance and higher current ratings. The mating pin also acts as a heat sink to keep wires cool; it extends the whole length to prevent wires from overheating in higher power contacts. Smiths Interconnect offers robust M12 connectors with cable harnesses. They are suited for the digital mining industry, for instance, to be mounted on rock drill sledges. Even after 100s of hours, the connector is able to maintain its high-performance levels. Smiths Interconnect’s M12 connector is designed to IP67 with 360° EMI shielding and compliant to fi re and smoke standards.


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