April 30, 2018 — Festo introduced a pneumatically based Fingerboard-latching system for drill-rig tubulars that safely indicates the exact locked or open position of each latch. This system operates reliably in harsh water- or land-based drilling environments and eliminates hard to maintain wire harnesses and electronic sensors on Fingerboards.
A Festo application team developed this drilling industry solution utilizing the Industry 4.0-based VTEM Motion Terminal. The VTEM Motion Terminal is a digital pneumatic system. Downloadable apps create a number of functions for the motion terminal.
The VTEM Motion Terminal with Fingerboard-latch app measures the position of each latch from closed to 100 percent open by analyzing cylinder air pressure and flow. The system can display measurements graphically via human machine interface (HMI) or communicate to a supervisory controller. Each VTEM smart valve in this application replaces two ordinary pneumatic valves.
The Fingerboard solution also features cylinder seals enhanced for extended life in the specific environment where the rig will be located and a corrosion-resistant coating that covers the exterior of each cylinder.
About Festo
Festo is a manufacturer of pneumatic and electromechanical systems, components, and controls for process and industrial automation.
