CONVEYING
Maximum Uptime Thanks to Technology Future Fibre Technologies (FFT), the technology division of AVA Risk Group, has released the Aura IQ solution. It aims to change conveyor health monitoring by using real-time data to optimise production and onsite performance, enhance occupational health, hygiene and safety management and introduce new predictive maintenance and support capabilities.
A
ura IQ harnesses the power of FFT’s fibre optic detection and sensing technology platform, and is combined with development partner, Mining3's advanced signal processing algorithms and predictive analytics, to acoustically monitor and assess conveyor health via cloud-based analysis, reporting and alerts.
Aura IQ Cloud and the Internet of Things The Aura IQ Cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) Network solution provides a means to wirelessly connect one or more Aura IQ Edge servers to a central cloud reporting and analytics platform. This enables alerts and reports from conveyor assets to be accessible on any internet-enabled device in near real-time, with no specialist software or equipment.
length of a conveyor. Acoustic disturbances from the conveyor system cause microscopic changes in the backscattered laser light that is then categorised into known parameters. Data is simultaneously gathered from every metre of the conveyor and processed by Aura IQ to pre-emptively alert operators, either on or off-site (in operational hubs or control rooms), to potential failures before they happen.
Early warning system
Aura IQ is a low cost, highly reliable solution for monitoring, measuring and detecting conveyor roller health, with no power required at the point of measurement
How it works
Aura IQ is a low cost, highly reliable solution for monitoring, measuring and detecting conveyor roller health, with no power required at the point of measurement. The solution transmits a series of short, laser pulses through a single fibre optic cable retrofitted along the
Alerts that can be set include the detection of a broken ball or a cracked cage in a ball race, the observation and tracking of idler bearings as they progressively wear, and the prediction of potential bearing seizures.
Commenting at the launch, Aura IQ's, Andrew Hames, says that distributed fibre optic acoustic monitoring is the way of the future for conveyor health monitoring. "This is a game changing solution which will optimise conveyor performance and create substantial cost savings for operators.” Andrew concludes by mentioning that a typical conveyor can have up to 7 000 bearings per kilometre, which means 7 000 potential points of failure. Aura IQ can monitor the condition of every conveyor roller, eliminating the need to ‘walk the belt’ and allowing for a controlled and scheduled plan of roller maintenance and replacement to be put in place. Future Fibre Technologies sales@fftsecurity.com www.fftsecurity.com
BULK HANDLING TODAY
August 2019
9
