Sparks Electrical News December 2017

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

7

DHET AND NSF APPROVE ECA(SA) PROPOSAL TO TRAIN 200 ELECTRICAL WIREMEN

DYMO WIRELESS LABEL PRINTER FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

By Mark Mfikoe, National Director, ECA(SA)

M&C REFURBISHES MILL MOTOR FOR GOLD MINE IN ZIMBABWE T he largest ac electric motor operating in Zimbabwe drives a reduction mill and its motor was recently refurbished by leading rotating machinery repairer, Marthinusen & Coutts, a division of ACTOM. Estimated to be around 30 years old, the 2 150 kW synchronous mill motor, which was in operation at Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, suffered a failure caused by age and metal fatigue. The main hub of the electrical rotor component had sheared off. Following preliminary repair work undertaken by the mine, Marthinusen & Coutts was called to site to investigate further and to provide a long-term solution. It was decided, following negotiations with the mine, to do a design modification instead of replacing the hub. Richard Botton, Divisional CEO of Marthinusen & Coutts, explains that this option was chosen as it would save costs and reduce T he Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has approved the Electrical Contractors Association’s ap- plication to train 200 unemployed youth as apprentices in the building construction electrical trade with support from the National Skills Fund. The training will not cost the beneficiaries anything. You could, therefore, argue without any trouble that there is indeed free tertiary education and skills transfer in the Republic of South Africa. The aim is to produce electricians who would not only be capable of being employed in the industry but also be employers in the industry and enhance the transformation imperatives of the country. The aim of the project is to turn 200 qualifying persons into registered people, in terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations, by 2020. There will be no shortcuts. Our respect for this trade is too big for us to do anything other than a perfect job. The trust placed on us by the Department of Higher Education and Training to deliver on this project is something we take so seriously that I, as the National Director of this association, will manage the project closely. When we are done, there will be 200 licenced electri- cians unleashed into the industry. Beneficiaries of this project will develop capacity to employ people in South Africa. Given its focus and bias towards the marginalised, without totally neglecting members of other communities, this project will contribute towards the transformation agenda of the Republic and add positively to economic and employment growth, and social development action plans. The geographic spread of the beneficiaries is as follows: There will be 20 apprentices from Brits of which four will be white and 16 black and largely from the rural villages around Brits. We must accelerate transformation. The combined figures in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni consists of 100 of which 20 will be white and 80 black. In Johannesburg, we will have 60 apprentices of which 50 will be black. In Sedibeng we will train 20 apprentices. More than 25% of the beneficiaries will be women, of which 49 of them will be young black women. We will be advertising in various publications, inviting apprentices from these areas to submit their applications. We will priori- tise apprentices with N2 Electrical Heavy Current as a minimum. We will place the apprentices with employers where they will get the opportunity to impress and secure employment and build value-adding relationships. The early bird catches the worm, as the saying goes, so please send your applications to zinhle@ecasa.co.za. If you are a company owner and would like to take on apprentices in these areas, please email Zinhle and express your interest. With your help, we will be able to resource our industry and complement the existing skilled workforce as we strive for excellence.

DYMO LabelWriter Wireless comes with built-in Wi-Fi to enable cable-free label printing. While the printer is suitable for typical general applications in the office, asset tracking, inventory, mailing and shipping and retail, especially with its ability to print barcodes, it is also ideal for use in industrial applications, including labelling shelves, warehousing, chemical storage, floor markers and equipment inventory. The LabelWriter Wireless can print on a wide selection of label tapes used by the existing DYMO LabelWriter printer series. Importantly for industrial ap- plications, the printer can use the existing long-lasting DYMO LW durable la- bels which use an industrial-strength adhesive that is able to stick securely to challenging surfaces, such as metal tread plate, textured PVC, wood and glass. The LabelWriter Wireless can print labels directly from Apple Macs, PCs, smartphones and tablets via its built-in Wi-Fi and can easily be added to a network for sharing.

Enquiries: za.rs-online.com

EASYPACT TVS RANGE OF MOTOR STARTER SOLUTIONS B ased on its 90+ years of mo- tor starter experience, Schnei- der Electric has produced a new

tor Strobel, marketing offer manager for Motor Starting Switchgear Business for Schneider Electric SA. “We have expanded on the successful TeSys E series by including nine sizes of contactors that cover an even broader range of current ratings. These are well matched to a choice of thermal overload relays, control relays and a new motor protection circuit breaker.” The capabilities of the range have been application optimised, so that customers pay only for what is needed to meet each project requirement. A clear reference system makes selection and ordering easy, while a maximised number of solu- tions within one range helps reduce stock- ing requirements and simplifies design. Enquiries: www.schneider-electric.co.za

EasyPact TVS range of motor starter so- lutions that delivers exceptional simplic- ity, flexibility, reliability and value for the majority of common applications. Also known as TeSys E, the EasyPact TVS includes a wide choice of contac- tors, relays and circuit breakers, provid- ing the essential features required to address 80% of the most common AC1 and AC3 motor applications, such as HVAC, pumping and material handling. “The EasyPact TVS range is precision- engineered to give contractors, OEMs and panel builders a motor starter solu- tion that perfectly balances performance, cost-effectiveness and quality,” says Vic-

the lead time without sacrificing the performance of the refurbished motor. In addition, 18 main pole coils were replaced; these were manufactured by Marthinusen & Coutts at its ISO 9001 accredited facility in Cleveland, Gauteng. A complete rewind of the stator was necessary owing to the extensive dam- age caused during the failure at the mine. “The ability to implement enhancements during the repair of critical electri- cal rotating machinery such as this motor is a major advantage to the mine as it allows for the latest technology and enhancements to be included in the final product solution,” says Botton. The scope of work included the on-site commissioning of the motor which was facilitated by the Marthinusen & Coutts Zimbabwe operation with techni- cal support from the division’s centre of excellence in Johannesburg.

FEATURE-RICH POWER CONTROL PANELS ON A SINGLE NETWORK LYNTEC, a leading manufacturer of innovative electrical power control solutions for professional audio, video and lighting systems, has introduced its Whole Venue Control offering. Whole Venue Control gives customers the option to mix and match LynTec’s RPC remote control breaker panels, RPCR automated relay panels, and new NPAC multi-circuit rackmount units within the same network on a single interface. “Previously, each LynTec controller interface could only display one panel type and customers could not have control zones that extended across multiple panel types,” said Mark Bishop, president of LynTec “ Now, with Whole Venue Control, we’ve made it possible to extend zones across motorised circuit breakers and relays within the same network. This means that our customers can put the right panel in the right place to leverage the LynTec feature set they know and love across an entire venue.” LynTec’s Whole Venue Control capabilities allow system designers to create a completely tailored AVL power control system. They can mix and match LynTec’s leading line of electrical power control solutions to address the unique infrastructure requirements across a broad range of applications. By accessing a single IP address, customers can set up, control, and monitor all their AVL sequences or DMX lighting zones across the facility, making LynTec the ideal power control and management solutions provider for theatres, stadia and arenas, conference centres, and other large venues.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 607 1700

HONEYWELL PRESSURE SENSOR EVALUATION KIT

T he Honeywell SEK001 sensor is ideal for sensor demonstration, testing and evaluation purposes. The SEK001 is essentially an Arduino shield board, which can interface a chosen individual sensor to the Arduino Uno (Rev3) microcontroller board. The selected sensor can either be mounted directly on the SEK001 board, or alternatively con- nected via leads enabling the sensor to be tested in adverse environments, or in a prototype product for proof-of-concept testing. The sensor board does not require the development of code before receiving sensor measurements, enabling devel- opers to start testing and prototyping right away. The kit includes the SEK001 sensor evaluation board and

five jumpers that are preconfigured to evaluate the on-board Honeywell HSCDRRN001ND2A5 5 V dc differential pressure sensor. The SEK001 also has sockets to receive Honeywell’s TruStability HSC and SSC series pressure sensors, which come with an I2C or SPI digital output, as well as the new TruStability RSC series of high-resolution pressure sensors. Also available is free downloadable Honeywell software, which controls the Arduino Uno board and takes readings from the sensor under evaluation. Sensor measurements can be dis- played on a PC and recorded to a .csv file for further analysis.

Enquiries: www.LynTec.com

Enquiries: za.rs-online.com

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

DECEMBER 2017