Engineering & Mining Journal

APR 2013

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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As an example of one of its products, its Blockmaster® vertical connecting link has been specially developed for flat-type chains. The company lists its advantages as being fast and easy to assemble, with no need for chain slack. It is bi-directional, so cannot be installed incorrectly. Thiele has also adapted these connectors for use on stage loaders, as well as for joining low-profile and super-flattype chains. At the Forefront of Mining-chain Development VDMA defines and numbers them, and creates its own image of the belt and its loops in real time. In this way, the company says, the system can monitor the belt's health continuously, and if a rip or tear occurs—breaking one or more of the loops—it stops the belt and reduces any further damage and downtime. Access and the monitoring of the system is simple, Becker adds, either locally with its 12-in. TFT screen, five shortcut buttons, mouse pad and virtual keypad, or remotely via TCP/IP or Modbus. An intrinsically safe version of the BRS 2 is also available. The key market for marco Systemanalyse und Entwicklung GmbH is providing innovative longwall control technology to highly productive coal mines. Responding to the current surge in demand for high technology combined with increased safety standards, the company supplies the world's leading roofsupport manufacturers supports with its pm32 systems. From its manufacturing plant in Dachau, its electro-hydraulic control products are marketed worldwide, with service facilities in China, Russia, the U.S., Mexico, Poland, Ukraine and Australia. In a recent project, marco has been working with Sany Heavy Mining Equipment on a modern, Chinese-made longwall plough system. Integrated marco automation and controls handle the difficult geological conditions found at the mine, with the aim being to improve the coal-cutting process and to integrate the drives and peripheral machinery into one system, bottom-up to the surface. The project also involves optimizing coal production in a thin-seam operation, with marco reporting that productivity increased dramatically soon after the system was commissioned. The top-down approach requires the integration of additional equipment, such as cutting devices, plough motors and drives, frequency converters, speed-controlled gears, loaders, crushers, conveyors, intelligent pump systems (frequency driven), face power distribution units, transformers, water-treatment systems and belts which, together with video cameras, are linked to a centralized host. This is achieved by using marco network switch relays and ethernet switches that are connected to 22-in. underground PCs. marco also supplies and installs fibre-optic cable technology for mine networks, thereby integrating process-visualization systems for underground and surface control rooms. VisualSystems became part of the marco group in 2012. A supplier of VISual PROcess-Automation systems, its products are a major factor in achieving integrated longwall face control as part of the overall aim of creating a digital mine with process visualization and control, marco says. Recent developments, including an underground camera, a multisensor with ultrasound measurement of the advancing ram, a canopy inclinometer and a small LED light device, complete marco's pm32 system, helping to provide tailor-made solutions for thin-seam longwall applications. The company notes that over the past 30 years, it has been at the forefront of moves to innovate mining and to understand what the next generation of miners requires in terms of technology. Its aim is to create new ideas and to challenge miners to change their opinions, it says, helping them understand processes by providing them with data collected over long periods from shearer and plough faces in different geological conditions worldwide. Founded in 1935, Thiele GmbH & Co. KG is now one of the world's foremost chain manufacturers. Thiele says its knowhow has been built up over many years of designing and producing complete chain systems, and its highly skilled workforce and modern, high-performance production facilities stand guarantee for products of the finest quality. The company specializes in chain systems for conveying and lifting. Its engineers provide an on-site consulting service and work alongside its clients to analyse the technical requirements before planning and sizing up the moving chain assembly. Customized solutions are then worked out in its own design department. All of the company's chains and components are manufactured in-house. Its production facilities include equipment for welding, laser-, plasma- and gas-cutting, solid forming, heat treatment and mechanical processing using the latest CNC lathes and multi-spindle milling machines. Thiele says that high-integrity production methods are used to ensure that all products leaving its factory are of the finest quality, as confirmed by continuous monitoring in its laboratory and testing house. It adds that it was one of the world's first chain-producing companies to meet the DIN EN ISO 9001 quality management standard. The company's product range covers conveying technology for mining, encompassing a complete range of chains, connectors, flight bars and accessories. It also offers conveying technology for bulk-material handling, and chains for lifting applications. Thiele designed the Blockmaster to make chain joining easier. VDMA 18 Bottom-up and Top-down: marco Innovates Digital Mining VDMA MINING SUPPLEMENT • 2013

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