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.