Intelligent Coal Preparation System - Rail-Mounted Inspection

Traditional coal preparation plant management models suffer from information silos, data delays, low inspection efficiency, and difficulties in timely detection of safety hazards. To build a new integrated "monitoring, management, and control" operational model and achieve data-driven refined management, we implemented this "Intelligent Coal Preparation System - Rail-Mounted Inspection" project.  The aim is to lay a solid foundation for the comprehensive intelligent upgrade of the coal preparation plant through a stable and reliable industrial-grade wireless network. 

Project Overview

The core of this project is the construction of an intelligent integrated control platform covering the entire production area of ​​the coal preparation plant. This platform integrates key business systems such as production, electromechanical, safety, sales, and dispatching, achieving unified data management and visualization. The project focuses on introducing rail-mounted intelligent inspection robots and deploying a Maxon IIB explosion-proof wireless base station network to ensure stable and real-time transmission of inspection data in complex industrial environments. The platform backend provides standardized data interfaces, not only pushing information to mobile apps for convenient mobile office work but also uploading data to the group headquarters to support unified management and dispatching decisions at the group level.

Project Challenges

Complex environment and strong interference: The dense equipment and numerous metal structures in the coal preparation plant pose a severe challenge to wireless signal transmission and coverage. 

High explosion-proof requirements: Some production areas have explosive gas environments, requiring all electrical equipment to meet strict explosion-proof standards.

Mobility requirements and "zero" delay: The rail-mounted inspection robot is in continuous motion, requiring the network to achieve seamless roaming and ensure "zero" delay in the transmission of control commands and video data to avoid stuttering and interruptions.

High data integration difficulty: Inspection data needs to be seamlessly integrated with data from other business systems to break down information silos. 8.

Solution

Local Wireless Coverage in the Workshop: In high-dust and strong electromagnetic interference areas of the coal preparation plant (such as the heavy media separation workshop and the filter press workshop), explosion-proof/industrial-grade wireless APs (explosion-proof rating up to Exd IIB/IIC T6, protection rating up to IP68) are installed via wall-mounting or ceiling-mounting, with a coverage radius typically of 50-100 meters.  The rail-mounted inspection robot is equipped with a Maxon MX8012C vehicle-mounted client to ensure stable signal transmission. The collected data is uploaded to the network platform in real time, allowing on-site personnel to view equipment operating parameters and issue dispatch commands in real time on mobile terminals.

Cross-Regional Data Interconnection:  Addressing the characteristic of "wide production areas" in coal preparation plants (e.g., raw coal storage and washing workshops are hundreds of meters apart), wireless bridges (using the 5.8GHz license-free frequency band (with strong anti-interference capabilities), transmission bandwidth up to 1.2Gbps, and latency below 10ms) are used to achieve "cross-regional interconnection without wired cabling."

Case Study

In the intelligent transformation of a large coal preparation plant, we successfully deployed a coverage solution based on Maxon explosion-proof wireless base stations. Before the project implementation, manual inspections had blind spots, and data transmission was delayed. After deployment, the wireless network stably covered the entire main plant, screening workshop, and other key areas, including all explosion-proof required areas. The rail-mounted inspection robot was able to operate 24/7 without interruption, and high-definition video and equipment status data were transmitted to the control center in real time via the wireless network. Management personnel, whether in the central control room or via a mobile app, can view the production site situation in real time, achieving precise monitoring and early warning of equipment operating status and safety hazards, significantly improving the safety management level and production efficiency of the coal preparation plant. This case fully demonstrates the practicality and reliability of Maxon wireless equipment in complex industrial scenarios.