Vayeron® Smart-Idler®

Roller failure is the leading cause of conveyor downtime, costing the Australian mining industry over $1.5B p.a. in lost productivity. Current methods to monitor rollers involve periodic manual inspections; however, this is labour intensive, costly, inaccurate and exposes personnel to hazardous situations. The brief was to overcome these short-comings by developing a system that: * **automatically** monitors rollers in **real-time**, 24/7 * **accurately** **predicts** roller failures * is **easy to install** in a wide range of roller brands and sizes * is completely **wireless**, requiring no conveyor wiring * operates **reliably** for 10 years in harsh mining environments * has a **low cost** per roller (<USD$30 )

Smart-Idler® embeds electronics within the roller that **automatically monitor** rollers in **real-time, 24/7**. Benchmark testing shows that Smart-Idler can **detect roller failures** up to 9 months in advance. It’s completely **wireless**, communicating by radio and powered via **energy harvesting**. Rollers fitted with Smart-Idler are a direct **drop-in replacement** for conventional rollers. Its versatile bracket allows it to be quickly and **easily installed** within a wide range of rollers. Smart-Idler® housings are made from **tough** glass filled nylon. It’s **frictionless** design has no wear, and it’s completely water and dust **ingress protected**. Smart-Idler® is low-cost at less than $30 per roller.

Smart-Idler® **improves safety** by reducing the need for potentially hazardous manual inspections. It also decreases the likelihood of fires caused by failures, which is critical for underground coal mines. Smart-Idler® **increases productivity and reduces costs** by allowing failing rollers to be replaced during scheduled maintenance periods rather than during critical production. A roller related shutdown can cost >$400,000 per hour. Smart-Idler only needs to reduce down-time by 15 minutes to pay for itself. Currently, many mines replace batches of rollers early to avoid failures. Smart-Idler® **reduces roller waste** by using rollers to their full operating capacity.

**Holistic Sensing -** Smart-Idler® monitors all the key characteristics of roller failure, i.e. temperature, vibration, and acoustic energy. It uses spectral analysis to accurately detect bearing failures, even in the presence of conveyor noise. **IoT -** Smart-Idler® forms a mesh radio network along the conveyor, through to an internet connected gateway. Operators can remotely view the conveyor condition in real-time. **Energy Harvesting –** Smart-Idler® is powered directly from the rotation of the roller. **Robust -** Smart-Idler's® enclosures are potted and made from glass-filled Nylon. Its cables are made of Teflon retained by steel clamps and its generator is frictionless eliminating wear. **Adaptable -** A Smart-Idler® is attached within a roller using a friction fit, steel spring clamp and nylon bush. There are no screws or welding required, making installation easy and convenient. Accommodating different rollers simply involves selecting an appropriately sized clamp and bush. **Other –** The Smart-Idler® antenna exits via a shallow slot in the shaft. The antenna is constructed by making electrical contact with the shaft. Temperature sensors are in direct proximity with the bearings to achieve accurate readings. **Branding –** The Vayeron logo is prominently displayed on the antenna cap, indicating that this is a “smart roller”.