WipWare’s Chief Technical Specialist, Marty Wanner traveled to Hanson’s Base Point Quarry in Shell Cove, NSW Australia at the end of January to commission WipWare’s 3-camera Momentum 5 Online Conveyor Particle Size Analysis System. With the support and assistance of the Hanson team, the 3 camera system was successfully commissioned and real-time particle size telemetry can now be collected.

In this location, the installations were being performed outside. As a result, sunlight canopies were installed to prevent sunlight from penetrating the analysis field and affecting the results.

All three cameras were installed prior to the visit. Our technical specialist was able to proceed with confirming connectivity, calibration and commissioning of the three camera installations. Sample material was placed on the conveyor belt to verify camera focus.

WipWare’s VAR (Value Added Reseller) Glen Blackstock with Micron Scientific Australia Pty Ltd was on hand as well for the permanent installation of this system. After the permanent installation of the system, a WipFrag demonstration, which is the HMI (Human to machine interface) for the system, was done for Hanson personnel. During this demonstration, all aspects of the system were reviewed and the Hanson team were trained on the use of WipFrag.

The Momentum 5 system will be able to detect changes in material size and shape allowing automation and optimization efforts in real-time.

For more information on our systems and software, go to Products and Services on our website.

WipWare’s technical specialists, Marty Wanner and Andrew Palangio traveled to Wausau, Wisconsin in November to commission our Momentum 5 Conveyor Particle Analysis System at the 3M Greystone location. The 3M team that originally installed the camera assembly did a remarkable job, with cables well protected and routed in a neat and tidy fashion. The camera was inspected and found to be working properly. The camera control box was also reviewed and all connections were inspected and found to be properly coupled.

Once connectivity was established between the workstation and the camera, the edge detection parameters were determined and image analyses proceeded. While the system was gathering data, Marty and Andrew took this opportunity to showcase our WipFrag software with a drone flight over the muckpile to perform a UAV analysis. While the drone was in flight, images were also snapped at ground level with WipFrag iOS on an iPhone to demonstrate the capabilities of the Apple app version of  the software.

The UAV image created is a GeoTIFF orthomosaic file – a mosaic of stitched-together drone images with scale and GPS information embedded in the file. This image format is required for UAV image analysis in WipFrag. The technical specialists walked through the differences between UAV image analysis and other image analyses in WipFrag. Then, the specialists compared the UAV analysis with the muck pile analysis and generated further merged analyses for demonstration.

After completing the UAV image analysis demonstration, they reviewed the data that the Momentum 5 analysis system had been collecting and fined tuned the calibration.

The setup of the Momentum 5 analysis system and camera was successfully completed due to the great teamwork between 3M Wausau’s personnel and the visiting WipWare technical specialists.

Thank You to 3M’s Greystone team for  providing essential information and assistance to ensure a successful on-site visit and commissioning.

From November 14-15, our Technical Team made their way to the NORCAT Training Centre in Sudbury.

The first class slated for WipWare trainees Marty, Tom and Andrew was the Working at Heights training modules. This lasted through the day. At the end of the program, the trainees quickly made their way to the computer room. They completed some final online multiple choice tests. Everyone passed with flying colours.

On the second day of training, our technical specialists headed to the NORCAT Underground Centre. This training facility was formerly Fecunis, a production mine owned and operated by Falconbridge (Xstrada Nickel). It was established in the 1940s and NORCAT now uses it as an underground training centre for students. It is located about an hour northwest of Sudbury, past Chelmsford and towards Onaping, ON off of Highway 144.

The day was spent in an underground classroom watching safety videos and slides, as well as sharing pertinent anecdotes about how safety saves lives. There was also a brief tour and a sounding and scaling demonstration and our technicians had an opportunity to experience how dark it is underground when the lights go out.

It was an interesting exposure for Marty, Tom and Andrew, and a great team bonding experience for the Technical Specialists to get to know one another. Plus, the team is fully prepared for an underground experience should one arise.

WipWare would like to welcome Andrew Palangio to the team as one of our Technical Specialists. Andrew was born and raised in North Bay and  a supporter of the community. He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Honours BA and has excellent experience in sound and lighting. Andrew has worked for the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Electronic Language Communications Ltd, and North Bay’s own Capitol Centre. His experience brings a new perspective and knowledge to the team. He is looking forward to discovering new things at WipWare Inc. and exploring an international business network while living in hometown North Bay.

Welcome to WipWare and the Tech Team!!!

We look forward to working with you.

Mining with AI – What does the future hold for industries like mining and implementing new technology to this sector? Deloitte and Norcat have collaborated to explore the future in mining. The article: “Future of Mining with AI: Building the first steps towards an insight-driven organization” explores this area where the majority of mines still use legacy technology.

As is often the case with new technology, implementation can be difficult, time‑consuming and ultimately more costly than anticipated. The challenges faced are not only technical challenges, but people and environmental factors as well.

What are some of challenges in implementing new technology to the mining sector? Tom Palangio, President of WipWare was asked for his insight on this topic. He is an explosives application specialist and more than 40 years in the explosives industry. Tom has pioneered the use of new technology and experienced the difficulty of introducing new ideas to the mining industry.

INDUSTRY CULTURE – Tom Palangio

Mining was traditionally perceived as a risky undertaking with uncertain grades, investment volatility and variable metal prices so every opportunity to reduce risk and stay with the proven methods of operation was encouraged. This risk aversion stifled innovation opportunities and many major operations avoided taking the lead in proving empirical performance of new technologies because the up‑front costs and the potential failure or risks involved with bleeding edge innovations was considered unwise. WipWare’s approach was to focus on improving the daily experience of frontline workers—including shifting from entirely trial and error practices of the past, where employees attempting to predict the crusher gap often increased equipment downtime. Relying on neural networks, WipWare provides real time material sizing data throughout the mining process that enables automated process control, which improve workers’ abilities to anticipate disruptions in their operations and cut costs through less downtime and extended equipment life.” (Page 7)

Click on the link to download the report: Future in Mining with AI

WipWare’s Solo online particle size analysis system gives automated particle size distribution data and eliminates the need for manual sieving. This saves the company time and increases safety. The Solo system is reliable, economical and provides instant data collection.

Thomas Palangio, Technical Officer and Marty Wanner, Technical Specialist had the pleasure of traveling to Burkina Faso, West Africa to install our Solo System at the SEMAFO Mana Mine.

Thomas and Marty met with the Semafo team to go over the installation location and ensure that everything was ready and in place to begin commissioning. They took a belt cut for sieve analysis. The team calculated Edge Detection parameters using the calibration image captured.

Volumetrics was another element that the Semafo team wanted data obtained along with particle size data. So, Thomas and Marty added these values to the system.

After completing all necessary adjustments, commissioning was completed data is now being collected. The SOLO online particle size analysis system will prove to be a highly effective tool to measure material size and shape telemetry in real-time.

The hospitality was great and a big thank you to everyone who was involved in ensuring a successful site visit and commissioning.