A more efficient grinding process
Grinding is responsible for up to 60 % of a cement plant’s electricity consumption. FIDEtechnology’s innovative FIDE Low Carbon (LC) Grinding Mill, a new type of vertical roller mill, increases grinding efficiency with up to 300 %. Its ultrafine grinding properties improves the reactivity of strategic materials, reducing the need for carbon-heavy clinker in cement production.
“We saw a need for a more efficient grinding process. Our technology grinds the material finer than traditional vertical grinding mills using less energy,” says Flemming Jørgensen, Electrical Lead at FIDEtechnology.
Prototype testing required vibration monitoring
FIDEtechnology are currently testing a prototype at the Construction Materials Laboratory at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and needed to collect vibration and sound data for two rotational speeds to protect and further develop the FIDE LC grinding mill.
Having worked in the industry for decades, they knew where to go for reliable monitoring equipment.
“It was natural for us to reach out to PCH Engineering as we’ve worked with them before and know from experience that their solutions work,” Flemming Jørgensen says.
DAQ monitoring solution for R&D
We helped FIDEtechnology design a data acquisition system (DAQ) for R&D based on the advanced, 4-channel PCH 1420 Vibration Monitor combined with the PCH EtherBridge Modbus communication module.
The PCH 1420 provides a wide range of sound and vibration data as well as Time Waveform data for FFT analysis and the PCH EtherBridge functions as an edge device transferring the data to a local edge computer and provides Modbus TCP communication to the PLC.
All data is visualised in the complementary PCH Vibration Studio software.
After the R&D phase, the monitoring solution can be further customised to match the exact operational needs of the FIDE LC grinding mill.
R&D kit for data acquisition
- 1 PCH1420 Vibration Monitor
- 1 PCH EtherBridge Modbus with optional IoT/Cloud access
- 1 PR3225 converter module
- 4 PCH-AC102 accelerometers
- 2 Balluff tacho sensors
- 1 microphone for sound monitoring
R&D benefits
The monitoring solution helps FIDEtechnology better understand the LC Mill and how best to operate it. The startup measure vibration as well as sound to predict maintenance needs, prevent breakdowns, and gain operational insights for further development of the grinder.
“PCH Engineering’s technical support has been outstanding. They showed us how to combine the monitoring equipment and how to use the complementary software. We had some technical difficulties with data communication, and they really helped us out,” Flemming Jørgensen says.
The solution allows FIDEtechnology as well as the scientists and PhD students at EPFL to access and analyse data remotely for R&D and scientific purposes. In time, FIDEtechnology hope to use the vibration data for operational control of the FIDE LC Mill.
