Tag Archives: LoRa

Progesys to bring Asystom predictive maintenance tech to Canada, Brazil mining sectors

Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Asystom and Progesys have announced an international partnership whereby Progesys will implement Asystom’s predictive maintenance technology across the mining, metal and oil and gas sectors in Canada and Brazil.

Progesys offers project management consultancy and transition-to-operations services to a vast international market. Its origins stem from the aluminium industry and now delve into energy, hydrocarbons, mining, infrastructure, transportation and more.

“Progesys effectively blend their management capabilities with field technical know-how to lead their clients’ operations to success,” the company said.

The Asystom solution monitors and analyses any rotating machine and helps to predict anomalies, wirelessly and non-intrusively, with a simple installation. Sensors communicate through a LoRa (Long Range network, and data is encrypted end-to-end. Asystom’s sensors monitor not only heat and vibration, but ultrasound too, meaning customers have the earliest possible alert of drift (before any damage has occurred). They run on standard batteries (so no need for additional wiring) for up to 10 years without intervention.

“An additional advantage of Long Range is that, due to its low frequency wireless transmission, the sensors can be positioned up to 1 km away from the LoRA gateway,” the company said. “Data is processed at the Edge on the sensors, and then the information is transferred and stored in the cloud through an encrypted secure network and then accessible through web applications.”

Andre Naccache, Managing Director at Asystom, said: “This a very positive next step in Asystom’s successful continued global expansion. Partnering with Progesys will enable us together to allow clients’ projects to achieve their fullest potential.”

Rami Faour, VP Business Development at Progesys, said: “Customers are looking for flexible solutions to meet the changing needs of their organisations. The Asystom solution allows industry customers to increase their production by up to 25%; this is due to the solution’s capabilities of predicting equipment failure and transmitting all data in real-time to any location of the client’s choosing. The information and alerts are then presented on a comprehensive dashboard, making it easy for our clients to see their data.”

Semtech brings IoT capabilities to Transco conveyor belt monitoring solutions

Bulk handling, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , ,

Semtech Corp and Transco Industries have partnered up to provide a remote monitoring solution for conveyor belts.

Transco, which specialises in conveyor components, design, installation, maintenance, and repair, has added Semtech’s LoRa® devices and wireless radio frequency technology into its own belt applications for “safer monitoring while reducing operating costs”, Semtech said.

Semtech’s LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology is a long-range, low-power solution for Internet of Things (IoT) that gives telecom companies, IoT application makers and system integrators the feature set necessary to deploy low-cost, interoperable IoT networks, gateways, sensors, module products, and IoT services worldwide, Semtech said.

Jeff Brown, President and CEO at Transco Industries, said: “Semtech’s LoRa Technology enables miners to remotely monitor conveyor belts, therefore reducing maintenance costs and helping to prevent belt failure.

“Previously, mine operations had to contract specialists to monitor factors like belt idler temperature and, typically, this could cost hundreds of dollars per hour. With LoRa-based sensors, managers are able to do this themselves in real-time without the risk of human error.”

Transco’s LoRa-enabled sensors were developed to flexibly fit into existing mining infrastructure including conveyor belts, the company said. “The small and durable sensors connect to private networks based on the LoRaWAN™ protocol allowing the continued relay of real-time data in the extreme conditions found in a mine.”

Miles-long conveyor belts can be equipped with an end-to-end solution consisting of several sensors embedded in the belt itself to measure stress and prevent potential ripping, according to the company. “In the event of a belt rip, LoRa-enabled sensors transmit a signal to the belt control, shutting the belt down immediately to halt the hazardous and expensive rip from worsening,” the company said. Mine operators can then inspect the damage and decide how best to repair the system.

Additional sensors are placed on belt idlers to measure temperature of the idler bearing as sensors report temperature data to allow mine operators to monitor bearing status and prevent overheating and fires.

Transco’s LoRa-based conveyer belt application is used in collaboration with Polysense Technologies, a leader in enterprise IoT solutions for fibre and wireless sensing, Semtech said.

Vivek Mohan, Director of IoT, Wireless and Sensing Products at Semtech, said: “Semtech’s LoRa Technology creates industrial IoT solutions that are highly scalable by number of sensors and gateways to cover even the largest work site or mine.

“LoRa Technology’s easy to deploy, flexible capabilities allow mine managers to leverage real-time data to predict maintenance and increase operating efficiency.”