1. State of the Art instrumentation and monitoring;

2. Adequate effective isolation of personnel;

3. Excellent maintenance procedures;

4; Really comprehensive insurance

& 5; A manufacturer willing to undertake the work.

I don't know or care if it has already been done: I just don't see the point.

Punters are going to demand human oversight at the end of the day. Why? Because some poor soul is going to have to carry the can if the machine runs amok and damages plant or personnel.

I wait for the day when some clever graduate realises that hordes of robots can be used to dig up and down a stockpile and when that one is finished they can walk to the next pile and start again. That's nearly what used to happen in days of yore and nobody thought it was silly then: manual intervention was tremendously popular. ■

Hello,

I think you are referring to the automatic reclaiming operation by linear travel rail mounted reclaimer (or stacker-cum-reclaimer) having bucket wheel on slewing and luffing boom. The automatic operation by such machines is in use, I think since more than 3 - 4 decades. As for the degree of automation following two - three versions are in use:

1) The machine is positioned by manual push button operation to commence the reclamation of selected module (segment of stockpile). The travel steps, choosing the applicable bench, applicable slewing angle, etc. are entered as an input for the automatic operation. If the stockpile remains to be of uniform pattern then it might be just repetition of the earlier input. The machine will automatically go on reclaiming for the selected steps or travel distance. After reaching this position machine will stop automatically and is traveled back by manual command and set for the automatic reclamation of the next bench. The operator would be present on the machine to see that the operation is going on smoothly and acts as a safety against accident / mishap. This operational mode refers to the module reclamation. Such automation I think is quite common.

2) Same as sr. no. 1 but it is not necessary to have operator on the machine for all the time. Such (highly automated) reclaiming machines are supplied from Germany for plants located in very difficult climate (Arctic) or as required by buyer, (Canada, USA, etc.). In such cases the designer / supplier may be using a longer module so that involvement of operator becomes minimum. In such machines bench type reclaiming could be also suitable.

Degree of automation is a flexible issue and it could be made highly automatic, but, only difficulty is that the stockpile may not have 100% uniform cross section because it is susceptible to variation in the material characteristics (moisture content, etc.), and it demands very disciplined way of functioning. This information is of general nature. You can refer to the manufacturer of the stacker reclaimer machines for the specific information, options, etc.

For deciding / designing the automation, it is also essential to have thorough knowledge about the mechanical and functional aspects of the machine and the need for the specific application.

This reply was posted earlier long time back, in this forum.

Regards,

Ishwar G. Mulani

Author of Book: ‘Engineering Science And Application Design For Belt Conveyors’. Conveyor design basis ISO (thereby book is helpful to design conveyors as per national standards of most of the countries across world). New print Nov., 2012.

Author of Book: ‘Belt Feeder Design And Hopper Bin Silo’

Advisor / Consultant for Bulk Material Handling System & Issues.

Pune, India. Tel.: 0091 (0)20 25871916

Email: conveyor.ishwar.mulani@gmail.com

Website: www.conveyor.ishwarmulani.com ■