The multinational BENETTI GROUP is a world leader in the manufacture of machinery and tools for excavating and processing blocks of marble, granite and stone. Founded in 1926, it is currently managed by the third generation of the Benetti family, and has around 50 employees. It meets the most demanding production requirements, and has unparalleled experience in the design and manufacture of a wide range of machinery for the extraction and processing of natural stone.
Marco Pieretti works as an assembly technician for BENETTI MACCHINE Spa. He is in charge of the assembly of equipment abroad, as well as the training of employees and the technical assistance of the complete range of equipment of the company. He provides technical support services at least twenty times a year, and is also involved in assembly and final testing of many of the company's saws:
• Diamond band saws
Fast 735 and Fast 736 for laminating and carving marble and stone blocks.
• The Super Jet Belt 950 diamond belt saw for cutting marble and stone blocks in open pit quarries.
• The Tunnel Jet Belt 940 diamond belt saw for underground quarries.
Mr. Pieretti had been looking for a measuring instrument that he could use for checking and troubleshooting both in the quarries and in the shop. He has no background in electrical engineering or electronics, and he wanted to find a powerful, versatile, portable, and easy-to-use tool that would minimize costly equipment downtime. These downtimes are especially inadvisable for Benetti's business, where equipment is used in open pit and underground quarries.
Most of Benetti's machinery is powered by asynchronous motors controlled by frequency converters with a power that can reach 75 kW to drive the equipment with diamond belts and cables. The secondary motor system uses small inverters or DC motors controlled by the corresponding electronic cards.
Stationary cutting machines control the raising and lowering of the diamond wire by means of a hydraulic circuit.
This circuit incorporates a variable capacity hydraulic pump, a piston controlled by a proportional valve, and a pressure/voltage transducer.
According to the Fluke website, the Fluke 289 seemed to meet all of Mr. Pieretti's needs, so he placed an order with his distributor for the Fluke 289 FlukeView Forms Combination Kit, the i410 AC/DC Current Clamp, and the TLK289 industrial test lead set. He received his combo kit in early 2008, and has used and evaluated it ever since.
For example, thanks to the built-in data logger and TrendCapture function, the Fluke 289 has helped Mr. Pieretti detect intermittent and hard-to-find anomalies, monitoring equipment while he was engaged in other tasks. With FlukeView Forms software he can overlay data recorded by six meters or time intervals to both find cause-and-effect relationships and track conditions.
Advantages
1. DC motor current and voltage measurements
The i410 AC/DC Current Clamp makes it easy to record the various operating parameters of DC motors used in both belt and cable diamond saws. Displays free-of-load operating parameters during calibration and testing via a convenient display of min/max/average readings. In addition to the minimum and maximum values, it also shows the average values and the corresponding time stamps. Its screen is large and easy to read and provides two different brightness levels to adjust the backlight.
Under actual working conditions, Mr. Pieretti discovered that the Fluke 289 allowed him to measure the force that the diamond cord or belt tool must exert. This is due to variations in cutting conditions such as the degree of sharpness of the diamond wire or belt, imperfections and irregularities in the stone, and the cooling effectiveness of the equipment.
2. True-rms measurements of current and frequency of AC control/low-pass filter
With the help of the i410 clamp meter, Mr. Pieretti can accurately calibrate instruments when testing new equipment, and avoids damaging instruments during testing and troubleshooting in the quarry. He can also collect and monitor the operating parameters of asynchronous motors that drive inverter diamond belt or wire equipment.
3. Temperature measurement
The CSM 962 electric saw is controlled by a complex, highly integrated hydraulic circuit that must withstand extremely harsh working conditions. The Fluke 289 allows you to collect information about the epicyclic reduction gear and hydraulic transmission operating temperatures, which is very useful during troubleshooting.
4. Event log
Diamond wire saws have high power (up to 75 kW) and high currents can be generated when starting the fixed axis. There are often power quality issues caused by electrical generators, such as long response times and interference with nearby equipment.
The Fluke 289's Min/Max/Average feature enabled Pieretti to detect and notify the customer of power quality problems and/or distribution line sizing issues, resulting in malfunctions that were wrongly attributed to machines. Among these failures were inverter alarms due to overvoltages or starting drops, and damaged connections.
5. Monitoring of operating parameters of diamond belt and wire saws
The Fast 735 736 diamond belt stationary saws resemble a stone abrasion test lab, as the equipment management software optimizes operating parameters based on the force exerted on the tool. Tool sharpness and effectiveness can vary over time, making proper adjustment of machine and tool settings a time consuming and costly process.
In this context, the Fluke 289's event logging key feature with a variable sampling time after the one second minimum period has proven extremely useful. You can record the signal corresponding to the effort that the tool must exert over a period of time (even an entire work shift) and present the data efficiently using FlukeView Forms software.
“The Fluke 289 has proven to be an extremely effective tool in the relatively short time I've used it,” says Pieretti. “As a non-specialist user, I especially appreciate the precision and ease of use of its functions, which gives me a tool capable of solving problems of a very diverse nature. Last but not least, I really appreciate being able to share my experience with other technicians on setting up machines and tools on site.
Congratulations on your products and thank you."
Tags
fluke 289; fluke 289 fvf
