Wheelabrator has launched three new digital applications specifically designed to help customers target costs in three areas of blast operations:

• Blast media consumption
• Energy consumption
• Maintenance and downtime

The new applications build on Norican Group's Monitizer software and NoriGate hardware, which are already successfully in use on DISA and StrikoWestofen plants. The tools are available for many existing and all new Wheelabrator plants.

Heinrich Dropmann, Senior Vice President Global Wheel at Wheelabrator, explains, "Digital technologies allow us to make the blasting process more transparent and to further optimize it accordingly. Together with a group of pilot customers, we specifically looked for the applications that would have the greatest positive effect on their productivity and profitability. We then very quickly identified these three as the most promising."

Trials have shown that targeting abrasive consumption alone (using digital monitoring and analysis) can unlock annual savings of €200-250 per kilowatt of connected abrasive power. For a typical overhead blast machine with four 11kW blast turbines, that's up to €10,000 per year. Over 20 years, the total savings generated by this one tool could cover the cost of a new plant.

"The digital tools we have developed here allow our customers to quickly determine exactly which parameters are causing high abrasive consumption, high energy consumption and high wear under the specific operating conditions on site. Better yet, they can do something about it based on this knowledge. They can quickly get their blasting costs under control without compromising production volume or quality. On the contrary, both can even be improved."

The three applications can be used on their own or connected to a comprehensive Industry 4.0 system - whether provided by Norican or another vendor. The NoriGate interface reads data from individual plants (by tapping it from the controller and sensors), while the Monitizer software collects, displays and analyzes the data in flexibly customizable dashboards.

Heinrich Dropmann continues, "We are not here to collect data for the sake of collecting it. We are experts in blasting processes and can select exactly the right parameters, collect data on them and then combine it in such a way that it clearly shows us where something is running optimally and where it is not. That gives the customer the data and information they need to improve the process and save money along the way."

Abrasive costs represent a large part of the operating costs of a blast machine and the amount of abrasive thrown through the machine, in relation to the blast result achieved, is an important determinant of wear inside the machine. Using less abrasive to achieve the same blast result in the same amount of time is therefore the Holy Grail of blast process optimization.

Although modern blasting technology has already contributed significantly to improving this equation, real-time monitoring and analysis of abrasive throughput and other process parameters can take optimization much further. Without digital tools, however, this is nearly impossible - and definitely not economical.

The first of Wheelabrator's three new tools provides an accurate picture of abrasive consumption over time and correlates it with other metrics so that causes of high consumption can be quickly identified. Even complex or more subtle reasons for increased abrasive throughput can be dissected and systematically remedied. The cost of monitoring and analysis is low compared to manual methods.

In numbers: For an overhead conveyor blast machine with four 11kW turbines, the tool helped reduce abrasive consumption (and associated costs) by 17%. At the same time, the cycle time was reduced by 20%. On a roller conveyor system with six 15kW turbines, cycle time was increased by 20% and abrasive consumption was reduced by 8%. Lowering or optimizing abrasive throughput not only saves money on abrasive, it also reduces energy consumption. Less wear means less maintenance and reduced wear part costs - up to 10% less, according to Wheelabrator estimates.

Blast machines - and blast wheel machines in particular - require a lot of electricity due to the high energy needed to accelerate the abrasive. Reducing this energy consumption while keeping the blasting process stable can save costs and contribute to more sustainable production.

However, most blast machine operators currently do not - and often cannot - record the energy consumption of their equipment and other process parameters. As a result, periods of high power consumption and its causes are not recognized. The power consumption behavior of the plant can thus not be specifically influenced and improved.

The second new Wheelabrator tool does just that. It monitors the right process parameters to strategically optimize idle and downtime, turbine speeds and more. Operators and owners can immediately see if the turbine is consuming more power than expected and can quickly find the cause and take corrective action. Over time, the plant's operation can be steadily adjusted for better energy efficiency without compromising blast results or machine productivity. In fact, both may even improve as a byproduct of optimization efforts.

In numbers: By reducing idle time by just one hour per day, the tool on a roller conveyor blast machine with eight 45kW turbines could unlock annual savings of €14,000 in energy costs. The same tool applied to a less powerful plant unlocked €4,000 in potential savings (for a continuous overhead shot blast machine with eight 15kW turbines). Both plants ran in 3-shift operation 240 days per year.

The inside of a blast machine is violent place. Wear is part of the blasting process. As with all machines, there is a lot of savings potential in avoiding unplanned downtime - in money, time and resources. However, monitoring the operating status of a shot blast machine is usually still done manually and rather occasionally.

Here, too, digital plant displays can help. By tracking things like turbine vibration, pressure drops in filters and other performance metrics, Wheelabrator's third tool can give a real-time picture of plant health and act as an advance warning system for wear and performance degradation. As a result, maintenance can be better planned and take place at just the right time (not too early, not too late) as a preventative measure. This prevents unplanned downtime without additional expenditures for wear parts.

In numbers: The tool helps prevent sudden or unnoticed part failure and avoid the associated costly damage. The timely replacement of a throwing blade, whose imminent failure was detected early and prevented by the planned replacement, cost a reference customer around €1,500. If the throwing blade had been allowed to break in the plant, the costs would have been at least three times that amount, depending on the extent of the damage. Clogged filters caused another Wheelabrator customer to incur €7,500 in extra costs for cleaning and additional wear. An extreme example of preventable parts failure and the resulting consequential damage is cracks in filter cartridges that allow fine dust to escape and settle on surrounding machines. In one case, escaped metallic dust even damaged the paint on cars parked in an adjacent parking lot. The cost of repainting amounted to €25,000.

The three digital tools are designed for quick payback, with a focus on the most common issues and key cost drivers that concern facility owners. But these very specific applications are just the beginning.

NoriGate and the Monitizer platform are highly flexible, powerful and adaptable. How customers use the system can evolve and expand over time. More applications are already in the pipeline and are supported by the entire Norican group, which is committed to digital innovation and promotes it across its technology brands.

Heinrich Dropmann concludes, "Customers who start collecting beam process data now, using one, two, or all three of our tools, are simultaneously building a repository of digital, historical data that can be re-analyzed in the future with new tools. So even if they want to take it rather slowly today, they'll have a whole treasure trove of data ready to be analyzed, to be used to gain entirely new insights as new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and automated process intervention, become practical and available. It's a very sensible and pragmatic way to approach digitizing the blasting process. And if customers are immediately ready for more, we want to hear from yours. We'll then be happy to show them what we're already working on!"

For more information on Wheelabrator's digital products, interested blast operators can contact their regional Wheelabrator contact.

www.wheelabratorgroup.de