Last week, power management company Eaton showcased its latest advanced solutions to Australian mining leaders at a dedicated technology event, helping to increase cost/energy efficiency, maximise uptime and improve safety at every stage of mining. Simon Meester, Eaton’s global mining segment director, highlighted the increasing need to leverage the latest technologies in the Australian mining market. The event exhibited Eaton’s significantly expanded product range for the first time since buying Cooper Industries at the end of 2012 – the largest acquisition in Eaton’s 102-year history and a major milestone for the company.

“Australia possesses one of the richest mining environments in the world. With rising costs and regulation, mine owners and operators are increasingly focused on optimising efficiency and maximising productivity by minimising downtime. Efficient and effective asset utilisation is key. We have dedicated solutions and proven technologies that can help make a mine more profitable and safe,” said Meester.

The Cooper Industries deal means that Eaton has one of the broadest portfolios of products, services and solutions in the electrical marketplace, expanding the company’s ability to better serve customers’ needs ranging from various energy saving technologies to cost effective structure and support systems.

“At this year’s Mining Tech Day, we are sharing our expertise on how attendees can improve performance while reducing costs. Our recent success at Centennial Coal’s Clarence underground mine is one of many examples we are discussing at the Mining Tech Day, where Eaton implemented a safe and innovative solution of medium voltage switchgear at the site’s pit-bottom,” Meester added.

The Eaton Mining Tech Day, held at The Botanicals, Crown Perth Convention Centre, included presentations and technology demonstrations of Eaton’s latest customised solutions focused on mining in Australia. Highlights included representations from mining offerings such as:

•Hydre-Mac Radial Piston Motor is a low speed, high torque motor launched in September 2013. From the most demanding industrial environments to the smallest mobile machinery, Eaton bent axis and in-line piston motors meet the needs of almost any application.

•LifeSense^® hydraulic hose monitoring system keeps constant watch on the health of hydraulic hose assemblies, detects events that indicate the hose is beginning to fail, and notifies the user prior to hose failure with enough time to replace the hose before it fails. This enhances safety, reduces system downtime, clean-up costs, environmental damage and increases service life by up to 50%.

•LED applications offer a long life, lowest life-cycle cost lighting alternative with vibration resistance across a comprehensive range of applications, delivering significantly reduced energy consumption.

•Arc Flash/Arc Reduction Maintenance Solution removes risk to personnel while they perform energized work protecting both people and equipment.

•Arc-Resistant Switchgear and Motor Control available in low-voltage and medium-voltage assemblies designed to protect personnel, available in both ANSI and IEC assemblies, and third party certified to the latest industry standards.

In addition, Eaton offers hydraulic hose replacement services to help customers maximise uptime . It says “about 75% of system failures is due to hydraulic contamination and Eaton’s onsite professional services can help miners to keep their machines up and running without hurting productivity. The wide range of Eaton portfolio in hydraulics, electrical and filtration can provide a comprehensive service package for mining companies, including safety audit programs and hose condition monitoring systems.”