The Titon 600 Drill Rig is used in open cut mines. In some areas the ground is very unstable which can result in accidents that put the operator at significant risk. To overcome this GM Mining Electrics can provide a TeleRemote Control System that is operated from a cabin in a safe area. The remote cabin is designed with controls that are very similar to the actual drill rig operator controls. Cameras on the drill rig give the operator a view of the drill cabin and the drill head via two large screen displays.
Requirements
Provide a remote control system that can process 12 analog and 64 digital input and output signals in real-time while maintaining reliability and safety.
Provide a visual display in the remote cabin for machine pressures, drill angle and drill rig inclination.
Provide pan tilt and zoom control for the remote cameras.
Provide a failsafe remote Emergency Stop facility.
System Description
Joystick and switch commands are fed into a Unitronics V570 PLC in the remote cabin where they are converted into serial data. A 900Mhz radio link (RFI 9256 radio modem) transmits the data to a Unitronics V130 PLC on the drill. The data is then converted back to analog and digital outputs to control the drill. Beckhoff I/O modules using the CANOpen protocol were selected to provide the correct mix of signals with a relatively small footprint.To prevent any uncommanded movements data is crosschecked with feedback from the drill control outputs. Any faults will result in the outputs being disabled and fault messages appearing on the V570 and V130 screens indicating the faulty circuit.
Screen Displays
Pressure transducers on the drill provide rotation, feed and flushing pressures that are transmitted back to the cabin and displayed on the V570 screen. An inclinometer provides tilt information in 2 axes, which is also displayed on the V570.
A separate screen on the V570 allows the operator to control the remote camera positions via the auxiliary port of the RFI 9256 radios.
The Emercency Stop Circuit utilises the RFI 9256 digital I/O as well as data from the PLC to provide redundancy. This is fed into a Banner Safety Relay on the drill. If any of the signals are not correct the Safety Relay will de-energise all the control outputs. The system is designed to ensure that a test of the Emergency Stop Circuit is carried out on every start up.
Conclusion
The system performance in terms of response time, reliability and safety has more than met expectations.This system can easily be modified to suit many more remote control applications.
