Tag Archives: Bosch Rexroth

AIMEX 2023 to illustrate the mining sector’s transition to a net-zero future

Australia’s longest-running mining event will return in September this year, with Asia-Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX*) 2023 set to bring together decision makers, experts and suppliers determined to change the face of the mining industry through technology, collaboration and radical improvements in efficiency and productivity.

From September 5-7, AIMEX attendees will gather at Sydney Showground to meet colleagues at networking events, discover innovative new products at the wide-ranging exhibition and drive the sector’s decarbonisation dialogue forward thanks to the event’s free-to-attend conference series.

Events like AIMEX always have a strong focus on mining’s contribution to the Australian economy, as well as a collaborative approach to knowledge sharing, according to event organisers. Stephen Galilee, CEO of industry body NSW Mining, believes the long-awaited AIMEX 2023 will live up to these standards.

“Mining is critical to the New South Wales economy, providing direct jobs for over 40,000 people while supporting thousands more jobs in more than 7,300 mining supplier businesses in NSW,” he said. “Australia is known for its mining expertise, our professionalism, and our commitment to safety. This strong track record means our highly skilled people, our technology, and our services are utilised by many mining operations around the world.”

Galilee added: “With hundreds of local and international mining industry suppliers expected to attend, attendance at AIMEX 2023 is a great opportunity to showcase the best our industry has to offer, including the latest developments in global mining technologies, and to share knowledge and experiences across the sector.”

As part of this knowledge-sharing and connection-driven agenda, the event will feature a free-to-attend conference, with themes including decarbonisation, technical innovation and waste management. AIMEX Exhibition Director, Samantha Martin, says conversations like these are essential for industry’s future.

“Australia’s transition to a green energy future will not happen without mining and METS and, while the country is well placed to lead this transition, innovation and collaboration across the supply chain have never been more important,” she said.

“Mining companies are no longer just looking for products that boost efficiency or lower costs, they also need products and services that meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations. AIMEX will illustrate the sector’s transition to a net-zero future with a dedicated product zone that will be complemented by key topics in the AIMEX Conference program.”

At AIMEX, there’s also opportunities for suppliers and potential employees to engage directly with major producers via the Mining House Pavilion, with Yancoal, Glencore and Whitehaven Coal already confirmed to attend.

Whitehaven Coal’s Executive General Manager of People & Culture, Daniel Cram, says that participating in AIMEX 2023 was an easy decision, given the quality of attendees and the chances to really have deep conversations around the future of industry.

“In such a tight talent market, it makes sense to maximise our opportunities to connect with both potential employees and suppliers, and AIMEX is a really convenient way to do exactly that,” he said.

AIMEX will feature a truly global cohort of suppliers with over 250 companies exhibiting, including Bosch Rexroth, Alfagomma, Altra Motion, Gates, IFM Efector, CR Mining, Bend-tech Group and Austdac. New features at AIMEX 2023 are the Transformative Technology Pavilion, showcasing exponential technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality and data utilisation, and the Decarbonisation Zone, featuring smart and sustainable solutions that meet the sector’s ESG obligations.

*International Mining is a media sponsor of AIMEX 2023

Bosch Rexroth opens up BODAS software use, lays groundwork for off-highway automation

Bosch Rexroth says it is opening up its mobile electronics software, BODAS, to all manufacturers and partners as part of a move to help OEMs speed up the launch of new machines and functions.

The company plans to offer manufacturers of off-highway machines free access to the entire standard portfolio of BODAS software for controlling mobile machines, with the company set to highlight this at the upcoming Bauma 2022 event in Munich, Germany, in October. Via the digital myBODAS platform, OEMs can download validated software packages for a range of applications, free of charge, in order to test them and adapt them to suit their own requirements.

Proven modules within the platform minimise the time, investment risks and costs involved, with the service only billed via a payment model based on credits if the software is used during series production. This makes it easy to use, flexible and transparent, Bosch Rexroth says.

“Whether it be hydraulic control, automation, connectivity or electrification – software plays a central role in the highly dynamic off-highway market,” the company says. “In order to achieve success with their mobile machines, OEMs must reduce the development time in a cost-effective manner while reducing functional and financial risks.”

Following registration and confirmation of the terms and conditions of use, the individual modules in the BODAS application software (AS), such as the eDA for the drivetrain, are then available. The modules are developed in accordance with current standards and already meet functional safety requirements, the company says. As a result, Bosch Rexroth helps manufacturers of any size to cope with increasing complexity in vehicle development, to compensate for a lack of know-how or resources and to update or expand their offering more quickly, it added.

“This way, the OEMs’ software developers can concentrate on selected customer values and speed up the launch of new functions and machines,” the company said. “They can also scale their own offering more quickly with software modules validated for Rexroth hardware.”

The open ecosystem of BODAS is being expanded all the time with standardised, extensively documented modules. myBODAS, thus, offers a toolkit for various control tasks involving mobile machines which is always up to date, the company explains. The growing need for automation solutions and the rapidly increasing number of assistance functions such as payload estimation, position sensing or surround sensing also make the system an attractive proposition.

Related to this, the company will present an integrated portfolio for the needs-based automation of off-highway machines, such as excavators, wheel loaders and telehandlers, at Bauma 2022.

The assistance functions cover advanced sensor systems and intuitive operating devices, including driver assistance functions for more efficient working and even virtual walls and emergency braking assistants for greater work safety. Ready-to-use software modules help to reduce the integration time into existing and future vehicle architectures and speed up their market launch, the company says. And, as a hardware platform for higher automation levels, Bosch Rexroth will announce a microprocessor-based, ROS2-compatible robotic control unit.

The automation portfolio presented at Bauma 2022 will be based on the BODAS platform for hardware, software and telematics.

The current range of assistance functions for productive and safe working processes includes easier levelling, load capacity measurement during handling operations, electronic vibration damping and various motion control systems for wheel loaders and telehandlers. Virtual walls and virtual rotary limiting systems protect the immediate surroundings by preventing the machine from accidentally leaving the safe working area. A number of functions can be adapted for other sectors, for example for tractor front loaders.

A ground-breaking HMI concept provides an intuitive user experience, the company says. This is based on ergonomic Sense+ joysticks with multi-dimensional optical and haptic feedback as well as high-resolution, high-contrast and glove-operable BODAS displays with easy-to-record visualisations for the relevant assistance functions.

The BODAS ecosystem also includes telematic modules for remote updates over the air, software remote maintenance and interfaces for transferring the wide range of operating data generated by the automation functions to ERP systems and their digital processes.

The new sensor systems for ultrasound, radar and inertial measuring systems form the basis for numerous other automation functions by recognising objects in the surroundings and recording the position of the kinematic systems with respect to each other via acceleration. There are plans to add extra functions and sensors such as LiDAR on a step-by-step basis, the company says.

For object recognition and terrain mapping, Bosch Rexroth is working with Bosch to develop a ROS2-compatible perception stack. On this basis, Bosch Rexroth plans to offer complete function packages in the future – from sensor integration and object recognition to machine intervention.

The new control platform is currently being developed, with prototypes for pilot projects available from the middle of 2023.