The deal strengthens Ampcontrol’s position in the longwall communications market. It also further establishes the relationship Ampcontrol and Angus Place have founded in working together in the development and enhancement of new technologies with an aim to provide improved safety systems through design.
Angus Place was one of the first to integrate the successful Ampcontrol iMAC on its conveyors in the late 1990s, and later the VoiceCom system.
Ampcontrol will supply Angus Place with Voice Controllers, Voice Amplifiers, Lockouts and the iMAC Remote Isolation System as well as the integration of the control system into the Longwall Controls. The Ampcontrol VoiceCom system is a total stand-alone product that can be incorporated into any other signal line systems on the market.
“The Ampcontrol system was preferred due to its ability to integrate seamlessly into existing longwall control systems. Ampcontrol have proved superior not only in their fault finding and diagnostic capabilities, but in their ability to offer comprehensive service and support through a network of locations throughout Australia,” Ampcontrol Electronics division operations manager Rod Henderson said.
Features of the system include high quality recordable messages, comprehensive diagnostics to aid fault finding and battery management capabilities and the ability to remotely monitor the field units via the digital communication line.
The controller can provide 255 messages, broadcasting specific events at specific locations, is user recordable and messages can be downloaded via a standard PC and software. In addition to this, all information can be monitored by the site through the SCADA System and the ModBus I/F Port such as trending, fault finding and preventative maintenance.
“Ampcontrol and Angus Place have worked together to develop a remote isolation control philosophy which has now been incorporated into the combination Pullkey/Voice Belt stations currently being used,” Angus Place engineering manager Brian Owers said.
Ampcontrol has also been contracted to supply a similar system to a major Queensland mine.
