April 2024 marks five years since the launch of the ElectroMax Overband Magnet and, in that period, Bunting has built and shipped 120 units for a value exceeding £3 million. The ElectroMax Overband Magnets successfully separate ferrous metal from conveyed material in recycling plants, mines, and quarries, bulk handling terminals, and power stations.
Bunting is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of magnetic separators, eddy current separators, metal detectors and electrostatic separators. The Bunting European manufacturing facilities are in Redditch, just outside Birmingham, and Berkhamsted, both in the United Kingdom.
The ElectroMax Overband Magnet uses a strong and deep electromagnetic field to lift and separate ferrous metal out of conveyed materials such as waste, mined ore, and quarried rock. Unlike other designs of electro overband magnet, the electromagnet is cooled with air rather than oil. This significantly reduces the weight and size, whilst being environmentally friendly by not using oil.
The ElectroMax Overband Magnet is 185% stronger than equivalent Permanent Overband Magnets and 25% lighter. Bunting states: “The development was in response to customers’ requests for smaller, lighter, and more compact Electro Overband Magnets without compromising separation performance. The ElectroMax is ideal for applications where space is limited or when extra separation power is required.”
In November 2020, Bunting expanded the range with the introduction of the ElectroMax-Plus Overband Magnet. This Overband operates up to 600 mm suspension height (the distance between the conveyor belt and the face of the magnet), up from 450 mm on a standard ElectroMax. At a suspension height of 500 mm, the ElectroMax-Plus is over 105% stronger (in terms of Force Index) than the equivalent ElectroMax. This incredible additional magnetic force removes small tramp ferrous metal commonly missed by permanent Overband Magnets.
Since the launch of the ElectroMax Overband Magnet in April 2019, Bunting has designed and built 120 units of varying sizes and for a diverse range of applications. Destinations include across Europe, North America, Africa, and Australasia.
The smallest ElectroMax Overband Magnet is the model EMAX 100, weighing just over 2,000 kg and suitable for conveyors with 1,000 mm wide belts. Bunting has sold multiple units for different applications including the removal of tramp ferrous metal from 400 t/h of gypsum rock at a quarry in Leicestershire, UK. At the site, the EMAX 100 was 400mm above a conveyor with a 900 mm belt width running at 2.14 m/sec.
In contrast, the EMAX-Plus 180 is the largest ElectroMax designed and built by the Redditch team. Despite the intense magnetic power, the EMAX-Plus 180 only weighs 4,900 kg, with an 1,800 mm long electromagnet mounted inside a 3,350 mm long by 1,400 mm wide frame.
Bunting has built three EMAX-Plus 180 units, with two installed at a coal terminal in Virginia, USA. The installation has the EMAX-Plus 180 magnets mounted 450 mm above a conveyor with an 1800mm wide belt travelling at the high speed of 5 m/sec. The two EMAX-Plus 180 Overbands remove tramp ferrous metal from 5,000 t/h of coal.
The third EMAX-Plus 180 is installed in an Indonesia limestone quarry. A conveyor with an 1,800 mm wide belt is transporting 200 t/h of limestone, with tramp ferrous metal being removed by the EMAX-Plus 180 suspended at 400 mm.
“Listening to our customers led to our development of the ElectroMax Overband Magnet, which has become one of our most popular magnetic separators,” explained Bunting’s European Technical Director, Adrian Coleman. “We continued developing the technology with the ElectroMax-Plus, further enhancing the magnetic power to weight and size ratio. As the demand for enhanced metal separation requirements become more widespread, an increasing number of customers are turning to the ElectroMax.”