Applications: Dredging and Marine Engineering

Prolec has established itself as one of market leaders in providing machine control systems for excavators involved in both dredging and marine engineering activities. Prolec's success in these most demanding application areas has been achieved because of its industry leading sensors technology, which includes the AS8 marine grade angle sensor.

Sensors used in this application are required to be both robust and accurate, and the AS8 meets both of these requirements. The AS8 is made from marine grade stainless steel and when installed offers a true IP68 installation. While other sensors claim to be suitable for marine use, they are often made from materials more suited to land applications, such as mild steel or aluminium and fitted using traditional cable methods. AS8s are installed using hydraulic hose and all connections are made using hydraulic fittings. The sensors are also extremely accurate at 0.09', which is more than twice as accurate as
standard accelerometer based sensors.

The second key element in Prolec's success in this area is the application specific software it produces. The pcX-3D has several 'off the shelf' variants, but customisation can be offered to meet specific requirements. The Digmaster product has also been used very successfully in marine applications and offers several industry standard output strings allowing the system to work with survey packages already used by the customer.

Prolec systems are commonly found in dredging applications, both land based and barge mounted, and are installed on standard excavators, grab dredgers and rope cranes. One of the biggest increases in use of Prolec systems has been for breakwater and armour rock constructions, with Prolec's products being the choice for prestigious projects such as the Palm Island project in Dubai, the Pearl of Qatar and too many others to mention here.

Prolec's track record is such that it has supplied many of the world's largest marine contractors and has several hundred systems working in "true" marine environments. Any company involved in marine construction or dredging should be talking to Prolec about its machine control requirements.