African Fusion November 2015

SA-made electrical connections for maximum uptime fromProof for underground equipment. Unique to the offering from Proof

P owermite is a component, equip- ment and system specialist that leads the southern African market in high quality, locally manufactured electrical products for an extensive array of mining and industrial applications, including welding. “Quality and reliability are prerequi- sites for extending the lifecycle of prod- ucts operating in the notoriously harsh mining environment,” says Powermite director, Donovan Marks. “Our range of electrical products, manufactured lo- cally by Proof Engineering and Ampco, are all ISO 9001: 2008 compliant. Both companies also carry SABS approval to IEC 60079 Part 1 and 2 and SANS 1489 – 2005, and to 60309 Part 1 and 2. “Lo- cal manufacture ensures rapid product and spares availability, another vital element for maximising productivity,” Marks adds. Proof produces PLM366 and 415/515

Engineering is phase-to-phase segre- gation, eliminating the risk of phase- to-phase-faults, which, in addition to costly downtime, can cause serious injury to person- nel. Another of the com- pany’s innovations is the unique ProAlloy coupler that is manufactured from non-theft material – a com- bination of zinc, copper and aluminium that makes the coupler 33% lighter than its brass counterpart with no significant resale value. The subsequent reduction in theft risk low- ers the potential for unplanned down- time and subsequent production losses. Ampco manufactures plugs and

plugs and sockets as well as an 11 kV, 800 A tunnel couplers and adaptors for open cast applications. “We also have a 22 kV 400 A coupler for draglines and we recently extended our product of- fering even further with the launch of a new 35 kV, 400 A coupler and adaptor for overhead line skids,” says Marks. An extensive series of plugs, sockets, cou- plers and adaptors, ranging from 120 A, 1.1 kV to 400 A, 12 kV, is also available Wear survey and mapping services minimise downtime and sockets from AMPCO are ideally suited for mobile generators, pumps, welding machines, factory installations, and more. sockets for underground operations as well as a range for industrial applica- tions. Available from 16 A to 63 A at 200 to 230 V; from 16 A to 125 A at 380 V to 400 V; and from 16 A to 125 A in the 500 to525V range, theseproducts are ideally suited for mobile generators, pumps, weldingmachines, factory installations, and more. The Ampco range features a unique interlocking design that prevents the end user from removing the plug under load, while the application of LM 6 re- duces the possibility of corrosion and The Mennekes industrial range of plugs

extends the product lifecycle.

Proof Engineering and Ampco are part of Powermite and all three opera- tions aremembers of theHudacoGroup. www.powermite.co.za

I ndustrial operations can improve efficiencies related to total cost of ownership of wear protection systems by making use of Rio-Carb’s cost and obligation-free wear survey and wear mapping service offering. The service was officially launched in August 2015, and is a proactive solu- tion to the costly and time-consuming effects that unforeseen wear can have on liners and pipes carrying abrasive materials. Rio-Carbproduct development manager, Luis Garcia, reveals that the company is able to produce a wear map, which reveals the greatest wear areas on materials handling equipment, by using advanced ultrasonic equipment that is operated by staff that are qualified in chute draughting. “This can result in huge savings for customers, as areas of less wear may not require replacement. The thickness measurements are carried out to the nearest 0.1 mm, and the areas are zoned

a South African coal mining operation since July 2015, withpositive results. “The encouraging feedback prompted us to go live with this offering, which also enables us to improve our turnaround times and efficiency based on strategic calculations undertaken on site,” he concludes. www.riocarb.co.za

by permanent marking, thereby ensuring that subsequent replacement checks can be reliably predicted. We are also able to estimatewhen andwhere our Chromium Carbide (CrC) liners should be installed by identifying the sharp-end of the wear system,” he explains. Garcia says that this service is also of great importance when plan- ning shutdowns for maintenance. “A costly industry trend is to wait for a hole to appear in the chute before replacing the entire liner. This only leads to increased downtime andmore linermaterial being used. Amonthly calculation of wear loss on each wear plate enables us to calculate the most suitable times for replacement.” The wear survey and wear mapping service is available to operations in the mining and al- lied resources industries. Garcia notes that it has been trialled at

Rio-Carb, the South African manufacturer of chromium carbide liner plates, is now offering a wear survey and mapping service for materials handling equipment.

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November 2015

AFRICAN FUSION