BECKER Mining has launched the newly developed BRS4.0 belt rip detection system, with advanced features for greater durability, higher efficiency and improved safety. Typical applications for this system are in mining and quarrying, manufacturing, food and beverage conveying, packaging and general conveying.
The new Becker BRS4.0 belt rip scanner, which is a replacement system for the BRS-2 system, continuously monitors a belt conveyor for belt rips and uses real-time loop diagnostics to stop the belt in the event of a problem, reducing damage, minimising downtime and preventing injury.
“The global operation – Becker Mining Systems – developed its BRS belt rip scanning system decades ago, which has proven to be the most reliable solution to conveyor belt problems. Belt rips can quickly and unexpectedly become a costly problem, leading to extended shutdown times in critical conveyor belt infrastructure,” says Rick Jacobs, senior general manager (SGM) for consumables, Becker Mining South Africa.
“The BRS4.0 is the latest generation belt rip scanner with new design features encompassing the latest technologies and advanced materials.
“The principal task of this new system remains the same – to detect longitudinal rips on steel cable and fibre conveyor belts as soon as they occur, thus limiting the implicated costs. This highly efficient system provides real-time information that can be accessed locally or remotely.
“Advancements of this system over the previous generation include a new user intaerface and revised data visualisation system. The updated system can be optionally equipped with an RFID reader to detect embedded RFID chips in the belt. An advantage of this
design is that the traditional reference coil is not necessary, and commissioning is more flexible.
“For those applications where the BRS controller is mounted on top of the conveyor framework, the new BRS4.0 system can be accessed via a WiFi interface, allowing full functionality on a mobile device. For additional convenience, an LTE modem allows for remote integration via a cellular network.”
To enable monitoring of steel cord belts, induction loops are embedded in the belt structure. Once installed, the BRS4.0 system detects the loops on the conveyor belt and assigns them numbers. It creates a real-time image of the belt and loops to monitor their condition.
The system includes two types of sensors – the BR2010 transmitter and the BR2020 receiver, which are placed under the belt, with a maximum distance of 250 mm. These sensors continuously monitor the condition of the line in real-time and if a rip is detected, the BRS4.0 stops the line to minimise further damage and minimise downtime.
The system provides detailed information about loop positions, their status and the last ten status changes of each loop. Other notable features include accurate belt speed measurements (up to 15m/s), real-time graphics, a forward and reverse facility, password protection and a record of the last 10,000 system changes.