Steel and metalworking

Steelworks and metalworking plants impose the toughest environmental requirements of all the industries covered here. That is precisely why drawing the boundaries is particularly important.

What can be used are the extensive ancillary areas, and they make up the largest share of the area in an integrated steelworks.

The most productive application is conveyor belt systems. Belt lines for ore, coal, sinter or scrap extend over kilometres, run through galleries and over bridges, and their most frequent cause of failure is overheating roller bearings – a thermal signal that is ideally suited to automated capture. A bearing detected early prevents a belt tear, and a belt tear brings a production chain to a standstill. The economic calculation is comparatively simple here.

Further tasks: condition of discharge points and transfer chutes, material build-up and wear on scrapers, checking hydraulic units and cooling circuits, visual inspection of dust extraction systems, condition monitoring of storage and loading areas.

The system's ingress protection and sure-footedness are first-order selection criteria here. So is the question of how often the device needs to be cleaned and who does it.

Further reading: The guide for operators covers site requirements and the course of a project.