Reduce maintenance costs of heavy machinery in mining

Reduce maintenance costs of heavy machinery in mining

Unlike conventional road infrastructure vehicles, heavy duty vehicles used in mining such as diggers must be able to withstand harsh environments and harsh conditions. In addition, on-site maintenance and repairs require highly skilled technicians, creating significant costs for this operation.

Mines are often located in remote areas. In such a demanding geological environment, even the slightest mistake in operating the machines can lead to injury, financial loss and much worse. In addition, providing on-site maintenance and repair services requires the employment of highly skilled technicians, generating significant costs. Therefore, for miners, precautions against these risks take precedence over repair methods.

To address these requirements, intelligent monitoring devices are increasingly being developed for various heavy-duty machines used in mining areas. These monitoring devices are designed to record relevant statistics and immediately identify and report abnormal conditions to improve safety. So, considering all the needs of the industry, Digital Instincts Teknologi (DIT) and Trakindo have teamed up to create a remote engine monitoring system for their Cat® 6030 excavator.

Advantech's TREK-570  was developed to withstand harsh operating environments. DIT is a systems integration consulting firm based in Jakarta, Indonesia, providing various tools to assist clients in complying with mining and energy laws and regulations as required by the Indonesian government. Trakindo is an Indonesian heavy equipment solutions provider, specializing in the supply of machinery manufactured by Caterpiller. The Cat® 6030 has an engine capacity of 1140 hp (1,530 hp) and a maximum operating weight of 300 tons and is Caterpillar's best-selling and widely used hydraulic excavator.

TREK-570 is built to withstand harsh operating environments

Under the combined efforts of DIT and Trakindo, a remote engine monitoring system has been successfully integrated into Caterpillar's Cat® 6030 excavator offering diverse capabilities, including remote engine monitoring, Instant reports/alarms, real-time statistical data updates and cloud access for constant monitoring engine.

To provide these capabilities and withstand harsh environmental conditions, the vehicle computers installed in the system must meet a number of stringent standards. DIT Chief Technology Officer Kenny Marchel pointed out, “The in-vehicle computer used for this system needs powerful yet flexible processing power and unique features such as high stability, capability, and performance. High temperature resistance and vibration resistance and water resistance. The TREK-570 in-vehicle computer developed by Advantech provides all of these features, making it the ideal system for our requirements.”

The in-vehicle computer system is designed to improve fleet management efficiency. Advantech's TREK-570 solution is powered by an Intel® Atom E3826 processor that ensures reliable operation, supports wide temperature operation of -30 ~ 70°C, and features anti-vibration and impact resistance. Its MILSTD-810G and 5M3 standards have been certified.

TREK-570 is also equipped with multiple I/O ports to integrate tire pressure monitoring and video monitoring systems. Furthermore, the inclusion of CAN-bus allows for instantaneous detection of engine problems. Mr. Marchel also emphasized that “Because communication conditions vary between mining sites, the on-board computer must be designed to support diverse communication technologies to ensure the collection of different types of data. different for deeper integration analysis”. Getting instant status reports greatly improves data digitization.

Using a wide range of communication technologies, including WWAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, satellite and GPS, the TREK-570 can transmit data such as vehicle information and status, location, driving behavior, images and goods to the backend server for real-time monitoring and management, and thus serves as a fleet management system with many advanced features.