Capital Equipment News August 2021

CRUSHING

growing need for plants that operate more efficiently for maximum beneficiation with minimal problems will be the driving force for OEMs to be at the forefront of innovation,” says Hendricks. According to Abelho, IoT will become more prevalent on crushing equipment. Machines will be uploading digital info to the cloud for analysis and trending. Fault-finding and diagnostics will be done remotely. Machines will have the ability to suggest pre-ordering of spares before a service is due or breakdown occurs. Equipment owners can, at the touch of a screen, access information on the status and performance of equipment from their mobile devices. “Maintenance teams will also be able to access a variety of online resources such as manuals, video files and training material. The operator terminals on some equipment can already provide technical information for maintenance teams. Fuzzy logic will become more common, which will guide and assist in setup and fault finding. Essentially having access to the web from often remote locations will allow a whole new level of operations as access to technical resources and data becomes more common,” concludes Abelho. b

The Metso IC Control system allows for performance parameter setting, data storage of machine parameters and other operational features.

“Automation will take centre stage in traditionally manual tasks such as lubrication and, in the case of crushers, in situ gap adjustment. Automation will become the major driver in assisting with tracking or identifying the cause of problems,” says Hendricks. The future Looking to the future, Hendricks believes that the focus on remote monitoring of

plant equipment will increase even more as it significantly cuts down and, in some instances, eliminates downtime. This would also further enhance the capability of field service technicians to assist customers remotely and reduce the need for physical site presence, thus eliminating safety risks. “Focus on improved or reduced power consumption will continue, and together with automation, this will set the market leaders apart from the rest. Customers’

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