Pit & Quarry, October 2018
CONVEYING MATERIAL HANDLING ADVANTAGES of AUTOMATION EDITED BY ZACH MENTZ E ngineered to operate at high speeds and over considerable distances conveyors are generally designed with electrical power only at essential locations such as the head pulley without secondary access for sensors lights accessories or other devices Running auxiliary power can be complicated and costly requiring transformers conduits junction boxes and oversized cables to accommodate the inevitable voltage drop over long runs That was the challenge at Illinois Cement Co in LaSalle Illinois specifically on the outdoor conveyor between the limestone crusher located at the quarry hopper loading point and the stackout conveyor Operators needed a power solution that was easy to install and maintain yet provided enough current to drive an automated dust suppression system a pneumatic belt cleaner tensioner and the air cannon equipment being implemented there The goal was to curb fugitive dust and spillage increasing cargo flow efficiency and minimizing labor costs for cleaning and maintenance Running a line from the breaker was more of an investment than we wanted to make without knowing how successful the material control efforts would be says Brian Brandner maintenance planner at Illinois Cement When Martin Engineering technicians proposed that they use their roll generator to power the new equipment we were skeptical because wed never seen anything like it THE LONG RIDE Coming from a quarry six miles away trucks haul about 18 metrics tons of raw limestone per load and drop it into a hopper leading to the crusher which reduces the rock to 4 in minus The crusher deposits aggregate onto the 164 ft No 153 conveyor that transfers it to No 107 1 which is fitted with a baghouse dust collection system at the transfer point It is the longest outdoor conveyor system on the site running 600 ft and discharging either onto a stackout conveyor or the 250 ft belt leading directly into the plant based upon immediate production needs The No 107 1 conveyor is a 30 in wide mechanically spliced belt with a 35 degree trough that travels at 400 ft per minute fpm conveying nearly 300 short tph of limestone The belt is protected from the weather S6 PIT QUARRY October 2018 pitandquarry com ALL PHOTOS MARTIN ENGINEERING A limestone quarry overcomes conveyor issues using autonomous technology
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