Coal Age

FEB 2013

Coal Age Magazine - For nearly 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.

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product news Proximity Detection Enhances Safety for Longwall Operations and-play capability with the Cat PMC-R longwall controls. www.cat.com Knuckle Buster Cat Detect Personnel identifies the presence of people on a longwall or near a continuous miner and transmits the location information to the machine control system. Caterpillar now offer its Detect Personnel, a personnel proximity detection system designed to enhance the safety of workers around longwall systems and continuous miners, as part of the its MineStar system. Using RFID tags worn by personnel and detection units mounted on mining machines, Cat Detect Personnel identifies the presence of people on a longwall or near a continuous miner and transmits the location information to the machine control system. The control system then takes appropriate actions���such as inhibiting machine movement and providing warning signals���when necessary to avoid potentially unsafe situations. For longwall systems, each roof support is equipped with a detection device, which transmits data to the control system governing automated roof support advance. In the case of the Cat PMC-R electrohydraulic control system, personnel would delay advancing roof supports when people are detected in the affected area. The PMC-R controls have a bright 180�� LED warning light and an acoustic alarm to indicate that roof support movement is pending. Cat Detect Personnel for continuous miners is in development. The system detects the presence of people within a certain distance of the machine and in 48 www.coalage.com potentially unsafe locations. When appropriate, the system provides a warning signal to such personnel and the machine operator and inhibits machine movement until the area is cleared. Each RFID tag worn by underground personnel incorporates a battery-powered transponder, essentially a transmitter and receiver. Each tag also has an identifier that is configurable with software to suit the needs of the mine. The tag could be configured, for example, to identify each person wearing a tag in the mine and/or to identify the wearer���s job title and specialized skills. That information could be transmitted to the longwall gate ends and to a mine office underground or on the surface for use in scheduling and assignment of personnel. Both the tags and readers are small and intrinsically safe. The tags are easy to wear, and the readers are easy to install on equipment because no explosion-proof enclosures are needed. Both the tags and readers have very low power consumption. Most important, the system is highly accurate, and the longwall system��� because each roof support controller acts as the local controller���has no delay, unlike systems that rely on communications via gate end controls to process data. The software is flexible and offers plug- Channellock has introduced a 30-inch 830 adjustable wrench. The huge crescent wrench complements the existing adjustable wrench line and is a full 6 inches longer than what was previously offered. The 830 provides added power and leverage, as well as a jaw capacity up to 3 inches. These improvements coupled with the fact that the wrench is forged from chrome vanadium steel for durability and performance makes it capable of handling the biggest and most demanding jobs. www.chanellock.com Metal Detectors Available in seven models to handle a wide range of applications, Eriez Model 1200 Metal Detectors detect both ferrous and nonferrous tramp metal���even when conveyed on steel-cord belts. The system is capable of detecting medium and larger ferrous and nonferrous particles traveling at speeds up to 1,200 fpm (363 mpm). It operates by measuring the change in received electromagnetic signal of material being conveyed through the sensor area. Since the magnetic properties of a material are completely independent of conductivity, both mag- February 2013

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