UK-based Tan Delta Systems, a manufacturer of real-time oil quality monitoring sensors and systems, says is leading the way within the mining and mineral processing sectors with the launch of SENSE-2. The new oil condition monitoring kit provides real-time data about machine oil quality to optimise maintenance and reduce operating costs.
The SENSE-2 is plug-and-play and accurately identifies when oil reaches the end of its life, superseding traditional time-based maintenance schedules, which can result in oil being discarded prematurely – with the potential of wasting up to 50% of its useful life. The company states: “Within the mining and mineral processing industry, maximising the performance of machinery such as rock crushers, excavators, and trucks is paramount to running an efficient operation, and the SENSE-2 kit can deliver a measurable improvement in equipment operating time.”
Chris Greenwood, CEO at Tan Delta Systems said: “Our SENSE-2 real-time monitoring utilises our world-leading sensor technology and associated analytics to detect any issues before any damage occurs, identifying subtle changes in equipment condition early. It can be fitted easily and efficiently to any existing equipment in any application and is configurable to any oil type. Although oil analysis is not new, traditional lab sampling is expensive and impractical with other sensors in the market focusing on specific parameters while missing others. Our system ensures the industry has access to superior quality information in an easy-to-use format, preventing excessive wear of components and resulting in increased productivity and reduced machine downtime and maintenance costs.”
He adds: “We work with a number of mining businesses worldwide, providing tailored oil condition monitoring solutions that use our unique active molecular-level analysis to detect all changes in oil condition and any contamination. The Tan Delta sensor works by providing a full-spectrum holistic (FSH™) oil quality analysis which ensures the oil’s condition is proactively managed and is not changed prematurely, causing unnecessary cost to the site, or changed too late and causing damage.”
The system was adopted by an oil sands mine in Canada on a 785D mining truck with the aim to increase the oil service intervals, reduce the number of oil changes and wastage while maintaining the integrity of the equipment and preventing failure. The results following the installation of SENSE-2 was doubling the service intervals from 500 to 1,000 hours, reducing oil costs by 50% and eliminating the risk of failure from oil contamination or wear, this resulted in a return on investment of 160% in the first year.
The OQSx-G2 oil quality sensor within the SENSE-2 kit is also available as a Mobile Oil Tester (MOT) Kit, created with workshops and mobile maintenance teams in mind. Any oil from any equipment can be sampled and tested simply and easily on-site in seconds. The sensor is used in conjunction with the MOT software, which operates on any Windows-based laptop, tablet, or PC. Users simply install the MOT app, connect it to the sensor, collect the sample in one of the bottles provided, and follow the steps in the software to test the sample.
