Coal Age Magazine - For more than 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/1055558
November 2018 www.coalage.com 29 high-hp motors continued The drives were conceived in 2004 and hit the market in 2005. Widespread deployment "started in the coal segment, but it has its place in underground mining, whether it is coal or hard rock," Hite said. "Primarily, right now, the drive is used in longwall applications because of the size of the motor and the size of underground conveyor belts that are used." The VFD is a stand-alone unit that allows speed control on a high-hp AC motor. "It is not a catalogue offering, but purpose-built equipment designed for underground mining to withstand the demands of their operations and to offer them precision control of their conveyor belts, with the added bonus of eliminating costly power centers," Hite said. Typically, it takes an incoming power of 12,470 volts and provides an outgoing voltage of 4,160 or 2,300 volts. "The fact that it can take that high-voltage input and give you that medium-voltage output is a really unique feature," Hite said. For a mine already using those volt- ages, the VFD is a plug-and-play solution, FLANDERS reported. The drives are engineered to deliver up to 2,000 hp, but could be built to deliver more. "The customer has the opportunity to pursue that," Hite said. The drives could also be built for an input as high as 21,600 volts. "As needs change in the under- ground mining industry, we will provide a solution on our end," he said. The drives are designed to be paired with general high-duty AC motors. Currently, VFDs are used at "some of the largest underground longwall opera- tions" in the USA, Hite said. "The under- ground medium-voltage VFD has been responsible for more than 100 million tons of coal production since its introduction to the industry." FLANDERS' variable frequency drive is designed for speed control on a high-hp AC motor, which translates into conveyor belt maintenance cost savings. (Photo: FLANDERS Inc.) THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR INDUSTRY bauma, Munich, April 8 –14, 2019 Being the world's leading event in the sector, bauma is the ideal environment for successful mining business. Because it gathers about 600,000 experts – including all international key players from the mining and construction industries. Contact: Trade Show Services GACC New York, Inc., kvogelsang@tssworldwide.com, Tel. +1 646 437 1013 THE HEARTBEAT YOUR VISIT. YOUR TICKET TO THE MARKET. www.bauma.de THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR INDUSTRY bauma, Munich, April 8 –14, 2019 Being the world's leading event in the sector, bauma is the ideal environment for successful mining business. Because it gathers about 600,000 experts – including all international key players from the mining and construction industries. Contact: Trade Show Services GACC New York, Inc., kvogelsang@tssworldwide.com, Tel. +1 646 437 1013 THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR INDUSTRY bauma, Munich, April 8 –14, 2019 Being the world's leading event in the sector, bauma is the ideal environment for successful mining business. Because it gathers about 600,000 experts – including all international key players from the mining and construction industries. Contact: Trade Show Services GACC New York, Inc., kvogelsang@tssworldwide.com, Tel. +1 646 437 1013 Contact: Trade Show Services GACC New York, Inc., kvogelsang@tssworldwide.com, Tel. +1 646 437 1013 YOUR VISIT. YOUR TICKET TO THE MARKET. www.bauma.de Connecting Global Competence