On March 20, Sidney Resources announced the arrival of IPG Photonics' custom-made lenses for its laser scanning head, and the last of its dedicated mirrors made by Raytheon ELCAN.
In addition, Goshan Machine & Design of Spokane, Washington, is making laser safety test cabinets, the company said. These are key components as the team prepares to test the laser at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM).
In early August, Sidney Resources said it had entered into an agreement with the Colorado School of Mines to test its laser mining technology. The protocol testing will be conducted with the assistance of IPG Photonics and will utilize the 4 kW IPG Photonics laser installed at the College. The engineering team's goal was to ensure that a variety of specialized directional laser pointing devices and their inherent custom software controls could be easily and easily used interchangeably across a variety of mining operations, such as when evaluating the ability to cut, fracture, and peel samples of various geological materials.
Gabe Achenbach and David Irish, two members of Sidney Resources' engineering team, will be at the Colorado School of Mines during the last week of March for test preparation as part of the future testing process. In the past few weeks, David Irish has been focusing on motion control and laser emission timing, and he has made significant progress in the fine work related to voice coil motion control.
Voice coil motion control refers to the motion process of electromagnetic actuators commonly used to control linear motion. A voice coil driver consists of a coil of wire connected to a removable magnetic core that is suspended in a magnetic field. When an electric current passes through the coil, it interacts with the magnetic field and creates a force capable of moving the core.
With the position feedback of optical encoder, the precise control of its motion can be realized. This feedback facilitates real-time adjustments to the location and several environment variables. It is this closed-loop control that forms the backbone of automatic motion control in many industries.
In addition to David Irish's work, Mike Irish, Sidney Resources' new chief scientific officer, and his team are expanding the data set that will be studied during initial testing. This includes ensuring that critical measurements and data collection are taken during the initial phase, including data on how the laser interacts with the rock during the test.
During testing, the Sidney Resources engineering team will use samples from the Lucky Ben Mine. Gary Mladjan, Sidney Resources Laser program manager, will continue to work on field test unit design concepts leading to the eventual deployment and testing of the Lucky Ben and Walla Walla projects in central Idaho. Both projects are high grade narrow vein structures and are the focus of laser mining projects.
About Sidney Resources
Founded in 1896, Sidney Resources is a green technology, clean water and clean refining company committed to changing the way the world grows. The company is advancing a range of technologies to enable cleaner, sustainable and more cost effective methods. The Company is exploring, developing and valuing ore bodies at two historic mining properties in north-central Idaho.
Source: OFweek
