Tag Archives: consumables

Metso Outotec to discontinue North Bay operations as part of consumable wear parts restructuring

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining services, , , , ,

Metso Outotec is developing its global rubber and poly-met supply chain by restructuring its consumables wear parts manufacturing operations in North America, leading to the closure of its factory operations in North Bay, Canada.

Production will be ramped down by the end of the first half of 2021, with the closure affecting a total of around 65 employees.

Metso Outotec says it will use the existing North and Central American manufacturing footprint in order to serve customers.

Sami Takaluoma, President, Consumables business area at Metso Outotec, said: “We are continuously developing our global supply footprint to ensure sustainable and profitable growth. To close a factory is a hard but necessary decision, and we realise that it will have implications on our employees. We will work to support them through the transition.”

The North Bay unit produces rubber and poly-met wear parts used in the mining industry.

Metso Outotec is a leading provider of rubber and poly-met mill lining with an extensive service network in all main mining markets. The company currently operates 11 factories manufacturing synthetic solutions globally.

Metso’s Trelleborg facility to press ahead with mill lining additions

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Metso says it is expanding the range, sizes and types of consumable products it manufactures with the help of an “innovative, mega-size compress press”.

The move will develop its consumables product range and production capacity, especially in larger consumables wear sizes, it said.

The press, being installed at its Trelleborg factory in Sweden, can produce products, such as mill lining wear parts, that weigh up to 8 t. Production with the new press will start in May, it said.

The press to be installed is the first in a series of three similar machines with a total value of €10 million ($10.8 million), according to Metso.

Sami Takaluoma, President, Consumables business, Metso, said: “We are continuously developing our operations to improve our flexibility in fulfilling our mining customers’ needs globally.

“For our customers, the ability to acquire and use larger, high-quality consumables in the process enables a longer operating time and reduces the time required for maintenance work. The new press has been developed together with the supplier, and it utilises unique, innovative technology.”

The ongoing COVID-19-related travel restrictions and increased employee safety measures globally created a need to find a sustainable and safe way to install the new machine in the Trelleborg facility, Metso said.

The installation process is monitored remotely by the supplier with dedicated installation support hubs in Australia and China. Through a variety of headsets and video cameras, the installation team has been able to obtain continuous online guidance and instructions.

“In this challenging situation, we found a workable solution to stay on schedule,” Takaluoma said. “Thanks to the continuous support and detailed online guidance provided to the on-site team, the installation work has proceeded as planned and with safety measures maintained.”

Metso is a leading provider of rubber and poly-met mill linings and has a strong service network in all the main mining markets. The Trelleborg unit produces rubber and poly-met wear parts used in the mining industry.

Metso currently operates 11 factories manufacturing synthetic solutions globally, and it will open a new factory for mining consumables wear parts in Lithuania in 2020.

Austin Engineering after safety and service life boost with two-piece excavator bucket

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , ,

Austin Engineering has designed and manufactured a new two-piece excavator bucket that, it says, can both improve safety and service life.

The bucket assembly features well-defined reusable upper and consumable lower structures, designed for quick and safe bucket change-outs during scheduled maintenance intervals, the company said.

The bucket has been structurally verified for the nominated fatigue life using both ANSYS FEA software and EDEM simulation, according to Austin. This showed the new bucket assembly will achieve the theoretical target payload at the nominated fill factor. Meanwhile, the upper and lower sections of the new bucket are fabricated with combinations of high-strength steel for maximum fatigue resistance and durability, Austin said.

“The design is focused on safety with extensive consideration given to the potential for ‘stored energy’ safety hazards to exist and these have been eliminated from the design wherever practical,” Austin said.

The reusable upper section maintains overall structural integrity of the bucket assembly for a predetermined service life through multiple change-outs of the lower, consumable, section, according to the company.

The typical baseline service life for the upper section service will be in the vicinity of 30,000 hours; around four-to-five years based on industry expectations of conventional one-piece buckets of similar size and capacities, Austin said.

“Designed to be mine site and application-specific, the upper section offers scope for customisation and benefits proportionate to minimising costs over the assembly’s operational life,” the company said.

The bucket is available as fully-lined or liner-less, while the consumable lower section features a simplified design to improve the change-out time of a complete lower section or the removal and replacement of worn individual components.

For fully liner-less, lower bucket assemblies, the resulting structure uses alternative high strength and wear resistant materials in key areas along with increased thickness of identified structural components, according to Austin.

“Components subject to high wear and impact, such as the main shell and side plates, are designed as modular inserts which can be customised to customer specific operations,” Austin said, adding that these can be easily removed and replaced if required ahead of planned change-out.

Replaced lower sections provide an option for remanufacturing and can be returned to site for storage and direct replacement as required.