HEALTH & SAFETY
a safety interlock. Technidrive designed a new PLC system that was able to read the encoder. The new system features a 10-inch Hitachi human machine interface (HMI) instead of a series of push buttons and controls on a busy panel.
Due to the encoder feedback and the live skip position function, the operator knows exactly where the skip is at any point. This results in easier and safer control between the four positions, visible on the touch screen display. Monitoring can also be conducted from a tablet or mobile, so problems can be diagnosed remotely and quickly.
If for any reason the encoder fails, the operator also has full manual control. For example, if the encoder slips on the shaft of the motor and the skip is moving up, the encoder will not recognise it, a belt and braces system is in place to prevent the skip driving over the end. To further increase safety, anti-free wheel protection was built into the system to stop the skip motor if freewheeling. “The project was completed in April 2021 and ever since, our plant has been operating at full efficiency,” explained Mark Poots, quarry manager at GibsonBros. “We used to be marred with electrical problems, but Technidrive and WEG provided a cost-effective way of upgrading the obsolete control system to an industry leading alternative. This has not only reduced downtime, but if component failure does occur,
replacements are more readily available. No one wants to see a skip rocket across the quarry and our new system is the safest way of operating this system.” “We chose WEG as the complete solutions provider for this application due to their renowned reputation in quarrying,” added Gary Kernaghan, automation manager at Technidrive. “This, paired with the worldwide backup and engineering support, ensured WEG were our first-choice supplier for this skip drive project. Being able to offer the complete solution — brake motor and VSD — meant that we were able to extend the warranty to three years, giving our
customer complete peace of mind. We have been working with WEG for over 15 years and have built the relationship and product knowledge to allow us to offer industry leading products and solutions.” Safety was the primary concern when developing this control system and WEG and Technidrive were keen to give TH Moore as much control and reliability as possible. This new system has essentially reduced the number of failure points from eight to one.
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WEG offer a complete range of energy efficient general and special application motors, variable speed drives and geared motors suitable for all industrial applications.
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FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | FEBRUARY 2023 29
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