Challenge
A major mine in South Central China was in the market for two new screens for iron ore processing. The vibrating screens they owned had been installed two years previously by another manufacturer. Since installation, the screens had experienced severe resonance issues and were literally shaking apart. As the amplitude would increase to process material, the trough would swing rapidly from side to side. They were also experiencing issues with bearings overheating which caused constant maintenance in addition to full screening deck replacements that required two shifts for the maintenance staff. The screen was not effectively processing their material and they needed a long-term solution.
Approach
Employees at the mine had met with General Kinematics and were interested in what GK offered to address the reliability, performance and maintenance issues they were currently experiencing. The STM SCREEN™ with its Two-Mass design and long life expectancy caught their attention. This screen also offered energy savings by using natural frequency to do most of the work.
Solution
The Chinese mine purchased two General Kinematics STM-SCREEN™ units to replace the equipment that had been in place for the last few years. The STM-SCREEN™ not only had a considerably longer life expectancy but also required less maintenance and a significantly reduced number of replacement decks. The decks have double the life of the current decks meaning a fraction of the downtime and half the labor requirements due to segmented replacements with no bolting required. When replacement is needed, instead of replacing the entire deck, the GK screen deck segments can be replaced individually. Most importantly for processing operations, the STM SCREEN™ increased screening effectiveness as the load increased whereas the old screen would become more erratic.
Result
In operation since 2009, the new STM-SCREEN™ units quickly began paying for themselves. Lower horsepower requirements provided a lower energy bill, increased tonnage capabilities, increased uptime, and dramatically lowered maintenance hours. The screen even runs smoothly during on/off procedures and the spring and screen troughs service life are greatly prolonged. According to the operators: “The maintenance was simplified, manpower was saved, and all of these aspects create[d] economic benefits for us.”
Are you experiencing similar problems with your mineral processing screen? Budget, working conditions, and processing capacity are all priorities when considering the right vibratory screen for your process. But reliability, processing effect and any potential maintenance difficulties of the equipment are also important in your decision process. Contact our engineers to see if a GK screen could be the right solution for you today.
