Tag Archives: Trelleborg

Trelleborg to provide a ‘step change in composite bearings’ with Orkot C620

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, , ,

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions says it is pushing the boundaries of composite technology with the launch of Orkot® C620, an innovative ultra-low friction bearing material with five times the compressive strength of other Orkot materials for off-highway applications.

A high-specification thermoset composite, Orkot C620 meets the requirements of the most demanding high-load applications across all market sectors, including off-highway, Trelleborg says. Though strong and light, it withstands high loads and stresses over a long service life.

Mark Hampton, Product and Innovations Manager, says: “Orkot C620’s optimised properties provide customers with a step change in composite bearings, offering a unique combination of ultra-low friction and a compressive strength of 470 MPa, five times the strength of standard Orkot materials. It is both stronger and has better friction characteristics than competitor composite materials, and can even challenge many metallic bearings for strength, offering industries such as aerospace the lighter, lower-friction solutions they increasingly demand.

“Featuring a strong glass fibre backing with a low-friction Orkot lining, it builds upon regular Orkot composite formulations with a unique compound where the properties of the different layers increase load capacity and strength. It does this without compromising weight while reducing friction and eliminating maintenance to maximise efficiency and service life.”

Because of its unique characteristics, Orkot C620 is an attractive solution for the demanding high-load applications of off-highway equipment like excavators, Trelleborg says. It withstands high loads in boom pivots when excavating large volumes of material. Its low stick-slip means that hydraulic cylinder pivots bearing heavy and valuable loads can be more efficient and operate more smoothly, while its durability extends the service life of track rollers and undercarriages in dynamic applications by reducing wear.

In bucket linkages it resists impacts of up to 200 KJ/sq.m, demonstrating resilience in applications that experience shocks and vibration, the company says. Orkot C620 wear rings in hydraulic cylinder rod guides reduce stick-slip to manage an excavator’s sharp and repetitive movements.

Orkot C620 has been extensively tested for its mechanical properties, thermal expansion and fluid compatibility, and meets standards including AS 9100, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, Trelleborg says.

Trelleborg lowers total cost of ownership for mine operators with GoldLine Premium 38

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

Trelleborg has introduced what it says is a unique natural abrasion-resistant rubber sheeting product to the mining market in the form of its GoldLine® Premium 38.

This sheeting protects mine owners’ investments in mineral processing plants from wear caused by wet abrasive slurries, the company says.

Recognising that limitations in testing of sheeting makes it difficult for engineers to rank, specify and select premium natural rubber compounds. To solve this problem, Trelleborg developed the SETAT™ – Submerged Elevated Temperature Abrasion Test.

This advanced, rigorous test and performance ranking tool demonstrated that GoldLine Premium 38 offered significantly lower rubber loss than alternative products, maximising sheeting life and thereby lowering total cost of ownership for mine operators, the company said.

Keith Jones, Business Development Manager for the product, says: “The new GoldLine Premium 38 improves equipment, piping and asset reliability in arduous wet abrasive applications, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

“In a two-year development program to perfect the sheet rubber’s formulation, extensive in-house SETAT verified the product outranks alternatives in terms of rubber loss.”

Jones said the sheeting, with its distinctive gold colour, represents a significant milestone for Trelleborg in the premium natural abrasion sheet rubber market.

“A dedicated and collaborative product development effort across multiple Trelleborg operations has culminated in an offering that will help mining and mineral processing operations across Australia manage wear caused by abrasive process slurries,” he said.

Developed to deliver the optimum combination of physical and mechanical properties, GoldLine Premium 38 has a well-balanced rubber formulation to resist wear and abrasion in a range of wet abrasive mineral processing slurry applications, Trelleborg says. In addition, it demonstrates high tensile strength, resilience, elongation at break and tear strength.

The sheeting is easily applied to steel surfaces using Trelleborg’s contact adhesives. It also has excellent workability and flexibility, in particular when applying under tension and compression, the company says, while custom-manufactured roll widths and lengths minimise yield loss or offcuts when lining equipment and pipe spools.

Trelleborg Performer Ceramic hoses cut maintenance intervals at iron ore mine

Bulk handling, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , ,

Trelleborg’s fluid handling operation is improving uptime at the world’s largest underground iron ore mine thanks to the installation of its Performer Ceramic hoses.

Standing up to harsh grinding and comminution processes at the operation – which IM believes to be the LKAB-owned Kiruna mine, in Sweden – the Performer Ceramic hoses are still performing after one year, significantly lengthening the quarterly maintenance cycle required for previous hoses, according to Trelleborg.

Ludovic Dumoulin, Market Segment Manager for Industrial Hoses within Trelleborg’s Fluid Handling Operation, said: “Keeping production at the extraordinary pace required in today’s mines means that each link in the processing chain has to be extraordinarily strong. The Performer Ceramic hose is like nothing else on the market. It offers extended life compared to rubber hoses and is 60% lighter than conventional ceramic hoses.

“The development process for the hose took four years and it is now proving it’s worth in real mining situations.”

Dumoulin said after one year of operation in the iron ore mine, Trelleborg engineers have confirmed that the mine’s Performer Ceramic hoses still have a lot of life in them yet – “at least another year-and-a-half before they need to be swapped out; 10 times longer than the quarterly average”, he said.

He concluded: “Cutting maintenance intervals from once a quarter for standard hoses to once a year with Performer Ceramic hoses can obviously have a dramatic effect on the cost efficiency of a mine, significantly lowering total cost of ownership.”

In addition, installation of the Performer Ceramic hose, used for hydraulic suction or discharge of highly abrasive material, is easier than competitor products, according to Trelleborg. The hose can be cut in the same way as an ordinary rubber hose without using a ceramic saw, while Bloc-End couplings provide simple fitment. Special diamond-shaped tiles have a bending radius tighter than a rubber hose at just 200 mm for a 50 mm hose and 1,300 mm for a 200 mm hose, which is roughly one-fifth of the space required by a conventional solution.

The Performer Ceramic hose patented design is 92% ceramic with an embedded steel helix. The operating temperature range is between -30°C and +70°C.

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.

Trelleborg expansion barrels keep slurry moving at Canada oil sands mine

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , ,

Trelleborg is helping improve uptime at a major oil sands mine in Alberta, Canada, through the delivery of rubber-lined expansion barrels.

Due to the size of the operation, oil sands slurry and sediments must travel long distances in the mine’s pipeline system. The mine, therefore, chose Trelleborg’s expansion barrels, which enable the thermal expansion and compression of pipelines, to facilitate extended periods of travel in extreme temperatures at the mine.

This removed the mine’s need for frequent maintenance and consequent downtime caused by extensive wear on the barrel, Trelleborg said.

“The expansion barrels, which were tested over a four-year period at the mine, are flexible in all directions, so they can compensate for the thermal expansion and lateral deflection in a pipe system,” the company said. This enabled the pumps, which circulate the slurry throughout the system, to be protected against load forces and allow for a safe expansion and compression.

Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg’s marine and infrastructure operation, which delivered the solution, said: “Testing proved that slurry was able to travel for 24,000 hours in the pipe without maintenance, equating to approximately three years, as opposed to around 4,000 hours, which non-expanding barrels often provide.

“With temperatures across certain parts of our mine reaching as low as -46°C, downtime can compromise the safety of our people during maintenance.”

He added: “With our in-house expertise and mining knowledge, we knew we could supply equipment to meet the demands of the mine’s environmental and business challenges, while providing a solution that can compensate for two or three expansion joints and allow for easy mounting and inspecting.”

The configuration of Trelleborg’s barrel, which can successfully operate in temperatures between -46°C and 90°C – and has an expansion/compression range of 910 mm – was successfully patented in Canada in 2012. The barrel also provides an installation hydraulic ram as a feature for simpler maintenance and rotation.