Tag Archives: Wear panels

Weir Minerals makes an impact with Linard modular anti-abrasion panels

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

Weir Minerals says it has developed new modular anti-abrasion panels that can reduce downtime caused by high impact and abrasive wear in mines and quarries.

Linard®, developed by Weir Minerals engineers and inspired by its customers’ everyday pain points, is available in 30 mm and 50 mm thicknesses, and ideally suited to minimising wear and maintenance in localised impact and wear points, the company said.

The outstanding wear life is owed to the wear material, according to Weir Minerals.

Linard HD60 rubber is configured in a rigid self-sealing construction with steel backing, while the optional composite ceramic (92% alumina) or high-chromium white iron inserts add to the wear life of the panels, Weir Minerals said.

Mark Doyle, Global Product Manager – Rubber, Spool and Hose for Weir Minerals, said: “Our new Linard panels have been designed from the ground up to last in some of the most arduous wear applications.

“Depending on the customer’s needs, we offer composite panels with either ceramic or high chromium white iron inserts, which combined with our Linard HD60 rubber compound to deliver world-class impact and abrasion resistance in chutes, hoppers and under-pans.”

Optimised through comprehensive trials in real mine site applications, Linard outperforms the competition time and again, Weir Minerals said.

Linard modular anti-abrasion panels improved wear life by 10 times replacing a competitor’s teflon wear panels in chutes across two quarries run by Boral Australia, saving more than A$12,000 ($7,605) per annum in direct costs and achieving significant uptime increases due to a 90% reduction in shutdowns, the company claimed.

“The 300 mm² panels interlock to facilitate quick and easy installation and replacement, while reducing the potential for fine material to ingress between the panels,” Weir Minerals said. “Linard modular anti-abrasion panels are supplied in a convenient kit including a range of hold down plugs, and capability to supply drawn arc studs where needed to provide a convenient off-the-shelf but customisable solution to the application.”

Paul Duthy, Wear Solutions Product Manager, Weir Minerals, said the company’s engineers can replace the Linard panels in minutes, reducing the amount of time they need to spend in chutes and other confined spaces.

“They are a bolt-in, bolt-out solution and being modular, they’re easy to fit onto any flat surface that requires extra protection,” he said. “This also makes it easy to swap around composite and standard panels to ensure the highest wear areas are the best protected.”

FLSmidth FerroCer wear panels ready to be proven in Africa mines

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

FLSmidth says it is gearing up for trials of its new FerroCer® modular impact wear panels in Africa, following successful tests in countries such as Australia, Peru and India.

The trials, to be conducted on sites in Zambia and Mozambique, are intended to demonstrate significant increases in wear life, a trait seen during other previous tests.

According to Zwerus Voges, Ceramic & Wear Solutions Specialist at FLSmidth, the innovative FerroCer panels represent a significant breakthrough in materials technology.

“The cost effective solution provides much better wear life than conventional panels and also delivers safety benefits to mine operators,” FLSmidth says.

Voges said: “The design of the panel takes advantage of the wear characteristics of multiple materials, and its matrix combines the strength and malleability of steel with the abrasion resistance of ceramics.”

Each panel weighs only 5 kg and can easily be handled by one person, meeting all the safety regulations for size and weight. The compact shape also makes the panels safe and easy to install using standard hand tools.

Voges says the panels have delivered longer wear life in various applications which has meant increased uptime for customer operations.

“FerroCer impact wear panels are particularly suited to high impact wear locations in a process plant, and these include chutes, hoppers, bins, feed boxes and vibrating screen boxes as well as reclaimer and loader buckets,” the company said.

The panels have excelled in nickel, gold, copper and zinc applications, according to FLSmidth, and Voges cites an example where FerroCer impact wear panels provided a solution in a tripper chute application. At this mining operation, the previous panels in use were having to be replaced every three to four weeks, resulting in increased unplanned shutdowns with associated costs.

“Since the FerroCer panels were installed over a year ago, not a single panel has had to be replaced in that application,” he says.

Based on the success of the original FerroCer panel design, FLSmidth recently developed the FerroCer 22 product for lighter applications where the material size is smaller. The larger ceramic surface area coverage on the panel reduces wear on the steel matrix. These panels weight only 2.8 kg.

“All panels are secured by just one bolt and nut, and no scaffolding or cranage is required,” the company said. “This enhances the safety and health of workers during installation, while speeding up the process.”

The compact size of the FerroCer panels also makes it easier to replace just the worn panels. This is a major advantage, especially where wear patterns are uneven and not all the panels in an installation require replacement, according to FLSmidth.

Voges highlights that the cone shape of the ceramic inserts enhances their resilience. It also means the panel wears more slowly over time, as the surface area of ceramic insert widens as it wears.

“The much longer wear life being achieved by the FerroCer panels translates into reduced total cost of ownership, which is a primary driver across all commodity sectors,” Voges concludes.