Tag Archives: Vesconite Bearings

Vesconite Hilube bushings provide boost at Codelco operations

Base metals, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, , , , , ,

Codelco has achieved exceptional results through the implementation of Vesconite Hilube wear-resistant bushings on underground LHDs, according to Vesconite.

Departing from traditional bronze bushings, the mining company’s adoption of Vesconite Hilube on Sandvik and Caterpillar LHD booms has led to an unprecedented increase in bushing lifespan, exceeding their initial expectations, it says.

Previously, the company relied on bronze bushings and with 1.5 months of operational life. Vesconite Hilube bushings were introduced in December 2022, with an initial goal of extending bushing life to three months. The reality, however, has far surpassed this objective, as the Vesconite Hilube bushings have endured for nine months and counting.

This transformation has been particularly significant, with the Vesconite Hilube bushings fitted to 30 LHD booms in 2023, with only one instance of a boom fitted with Vesconite Hilube bushings requiring repairs. Notably, the company’s repairer has reported that the bronze bushings occasionally suffered from cracking, making it clear this is not a recurring issue with Vesconite Hilube bushings.

The copper producer has expressed its satisfaction with the results obtained and is actively exploring the expansion of Vesconite Hilube bushings for other applications, Vesconite says. These include trials on mining jumbos and larger LHDs, as well as applications for bushings associated with rear shaft oscillating movement.

Vesconite Bearings’ Argentine distributor, Vesarg, plays a pivotal role in supplying the mine with Vesconite Hilube bushing stock. During a visit to the Chile site, close to Santiago, where booms were being fitted with Vesconite Hilube, Leandro Panzini of Vesarg was briefed on the outcomes of the Vesconite Hilube bushing testing.

Panzini says: “As the world’s leading copper producer explores broader applications for Vesconite Hilube, the mining industry, where Vesconite first proved itself, is showing itself to be an important market for Vesconite products.

“Vesconite Hilube lasts much more than three times the length of bronze in this application.”

MechProTech collaborates with Vesconite Bearings on new mills, scrubbers

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining maintenance, , , , , , ,

Mineral processing equipment manufacturer and designer, MechProTech, has introduced hydrodynamic composite bearings made from Vesconite Bearings’ vesconite thermopolymer plates for use on mills and scrubbers for the mining industry.

These plates, which are bent into a half moon or quarter moon shape, are used on the mineral processing equipment MechProTech designs and manufactures.

The bearings run on an oil film, so there is no surface contact between the bearing and the outside support for the mills and the scrubbers, and, as a result, there is no energy-consuming and grinding friction during operation, according to MechProTech Sales Manager, Wynand Boshoff.

“Vesconite is a sacrificial bearing that provides support. If the oil that the bearing runs on breaks down, there is no damage to our equipment,” he says.

The advantages of using vesconite also extend to cost, operations and logistics.

MechProTech noted that the hydrodynamic bearings are less expensive in this application than white metal bearings, which can be six times more expensive than the thermopolymer bearings, and are also hard wearing and grease free, requiring little maintenance in an industry in which machinery downtime can be costly.

Vesconite water flingers seal the deal for mining pump manufacturer

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Water management, ,

Vesconite Bearings has come to the rescue of a southern Africa pump manufacturer looking to improve the performance of horizontal centrifugal pumps operating in mines across the continent.

The company has now received its order for Vesconite low-swell hard-wearing water-flinger polymer bearings for four of its pump sizes.

Vesconite Bearings said the manufacturer found its horizontal centrifugal pumps, as a result of high pressure, had a problem of water escaping from the gland packing – the material that should form a watertight seal around the shaft.

This resulted in dirty water being sprayed on to the non-drive-end bearing assembly and, in turn, seizure, failure, and a high maintenance and down-time cost to replace the bearing assembly.

“The manufacturer designed a water flinger (deflector) solution that would attach to the release collar on the shaft,”  Vesconite Bearings Technical Sales Consultant, Phillip de Villiers, said.

“This would mean that excess water from the gland packing would be deflected with the rotation of the shaft.”

However, the initial solution employed a phenolic laminated material, which was found to absorb water and delaminate.

To eliminate these problems, the company called on de Villiers, who suggested Vesconite as an alternative material that would not swell or delaminate and had the added advantage of being suitable in dirty environments because of its excellent wear-resistant properties.

“Samples were produced and tested and, proving successful, the manufacturer ordered water flingers of various designs for its different pump sizes,” de Villiers said. “The whole process from sample production to first order took three months.”

The pump manufacturer intends to use Vesconite water flingers in all of its pumps, which are used in a variety of applications, according to Vesconite Bearings.

It is active in a multitude of African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe and the DRC, in which some of the first Vesconite water flingers will be installed in a dewatering pump in a mine, Vesconite Bearings says.