Tag Archives: DDC-Sizer

McLanahan readies second DDC-Sizer for Queensland coal mine

Coal technology, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

McLanahan says it has won a second DDC-Sizer order from a coal mine in Queensland, Australia, less than a year after commissioning the first.

With the duplication of the crushing circuit, the site now boasts three McLanahan Feeder-Breakers and four McLanahan DDC-Sizers, the company said.

The mine will be processing a maximum of 715 t/h of raw coal through the new McLanahan DDC-Sizers. The secondary sizer will receive minus 250 mm raw coal from the McLanahan run-of-mine (ROM) coal feeder-breaker, with the final washable product size from the tertiary sizer being a nominal 50 mm. This involves no screening between stages, the company said.

Brad Anstess, Coal Specialist for McLanahan, said: “Not only will the customer increase their production, but they will run the equipment in a parallel configuration; that is, having two three-stage crushing modules – ensuring consistency of supply and meeting annual production goals.”

The process will see ROM coal delivered into each ROM receival hopper. Below these receival hoppers, a McLanahan Feeder-Breaker is installed where it will receive a grizzly-controlled top size of approximately 600 mm x 600 mm x 1,000 mm. The feeder-breaker will metre the feed of these large lumps and break them to a nominal 220 mm x 220 mm x 300 mm size, the company said. These nominal 220 mm lumps of rock and coal from the feeder-breaker are then processed by the secondary sizer to a nominal 110 mm and then to a tertiary sizer for a nominal 50 mm product ready for washing in the coal handling preparation plant.

The sizer assemblies were finalised in April this year and each machine was then prepared for the customer who was invited to the McLanahan Workshop located in Cameron Park, New South Wales, the company said.

Each sizer underwent three-and-a-half hours of factory acceptance testing, with vibration and temperature monitored across a range of components including the bearings, motor couplings and gearboxes. “Both the secondary and tertiary sizers ran as expected by the customer, with some minor adjustments made upon test completion,” the company said.

McLanahan Project Manager and Mechanical Engineer, Chris Raines, monitored both sizers for the duration of the factory acceptance tests, and made relevant adjustments to optimise performance on each machine, the company said.

“The McLanahan workshop team took additional care to focus on ensuring roll centre adjustment was accurate as this was important to the client,” Raines said. “The customer is very happy with the finished product. Particularly with the design improvements we’ve made over previous machines.”

The sizers are awaiting shipment from the McLanahan workshop and are due to be commissioned before the June quarter of 2020.

McLanahan refurbs DDC-Sizer for New South Wales coal miner

Comminution of minerals, , , , ,

McLanahan says it has completed its first refurbishment for 2019 with the shipment of a DDC-Sizer to a coal customer in New South Wales, Australia.

The DDC-Sizer has been an integral part of the customers’ site for over 14 years, and has been refurbished regular by McLanahan since its original manufacture in 2005, McLanahan said. The DDC-Sizer is currently one of two machines running parallel and receiving underground feed at 1,600 t/h through bifurcated chute work.

Minor refurbishments and upgrades typically occur every three or so years, according to McLanahan. These include a process of strip and assess by McLanahan Service, which allows McLanahan to provide a fixed-cost on scope of works to bring the machine back to its true OEM specification.

All spare parts required were available stock on hand from McLanahan’s 3,500m² workshop and fitted by McLanahan service technicians out of its Cameron Park facility. At any given time, McLanahan has stock for standard design items such as bearings and seals, it said.

“In order for McLanahan to complete the refurbishment, the client opted to select free issued McLanahan parts from their own stock holding to use in the restoration. These parts will be replenished at the end of the project, ready for the next rebuild,” the company said.

The DDC-Sizer was retrofitted with a wheel box and tow point upgrades. This customisation developed by the technical services team allows the machine to move with ease and efficiency when maintenance is required, according to the company.

Before the DDC-Sizer was shipped back to the customer, it underwent mandatory Factory Acceptance Testing on February 8, where the customer was invited to attend at the McLanahan workshop for the duration.

“The test went for a standard three-hour period, in which the bearings were assessed for their correct temperature specification. Upon completion, there were no anomalies recorded in the data and the DDC-Sizer was now able to be prepared for shipment,” McLanahan said.

The strategy of having a rotable replacement DDC-Sizer has proven to be a very efficient means of maintaining optimum production for this customer, McLanahan said. “They run both machines very hard and have increased the mean time between shuts. Having the ability to remove the machine from service and replace it with a refurbished spare allows the customer to maximise production whilst the existing machine is being maintained in the workshop rather than on site.”

Direct Drive Crushing Sizers, specifically McLanahan DDC-Sizers, provide primary, secondary and tertiary reduction of friable, low silica materials such as coal, salt, gypsum, phosphate, limestone, bauxite, petroleum coke, lignite, trona, carbon anodes, oil sands, clay, shale and more, the company said.

DDC-Sizers have a direct drive arrangement and low-profile design that allows wheel mounting for a movable configuration. The preferred method of installation is to mount the unit on rails with a non-rigid connection between the feed and discharge chutes. Since the drives are attached to the mainframe of the sizer, the entire unit can be rolled out from the feed stream to facilitate maintenance, McLanahan said.