Distribution of power to motor over 20m away

When drilling for ore at shallower sites complexity and cost can be significantly reduced using a motor driven helical screw drill bit. New sensors and on-board processing of the power demands of the drill’s motor allows automatic logging information on the changing composition of the soil that the drill passes through. This allows faster and more accurate prioritization of follow-on site surveys, saving manpower and costs. The key goals were:

• Automate the data logging of motor data
• Distribution of power to motor over 20m away
• Reliable operation in a harsh environment (temperature and vibration)

Built-in PMBus solution allowed precise control over rugged conditions

Logging the motor’s load condition allowed precise control of drill rotation speed, improving the integrity of the recovered soil samples. This was simplified through the use of the BCM bus converter modules built-in PMBus ports. These rugged converters operate over wide temperature ranges and offer excellent resistance to shock and vibration improving system reliability. Key benefits were:

• Bus Converter digital interface simplified logging of motor speed and torque data
• The wide input voltage range of the BCM converters compensated for the long power cable
• 91.5% conversion efficiency simplified heat management as fan cooling was not permitted