Well-running mine conveyors usually do not cause much attention, but this may change in a few seconds. Unscheduled conveyor downtime, for whatever reason, is usually handled immediately, with an increase in exponential level. If the conveyor is part of the mine production chain, extended downtime will be rapidly converted to reduced revenue flows, which may be exacerbated by additional costs of unplanned maintenance or repairs. At first glance, the conveyor looks mechanically simple, quietly and effectively overshadowed the design phase that usually has to consider a wide range of component selection and performance variables that cover the load material characteristics, capacity requirements and external environmental conditions for belt size and type, Pulleys and idler specifications and power requirements. If the system’s route is long or uphill, downhill, or twisted, another layer of design issues is added to the stack. Therefore, it is not surprising that transmission systems and component suppliers emphasize power, reliability, security and simplicity in new product announcements. The failure of a critical component can literally stop the belt and the track of the mine, and complex mechanisms are usually not suitable for quick and simple maintenance programs. These are factors that drive conveyor manufacturers and suppliers to steadily improve the range and depth of their product range. In this article, we will reflect the latest trends, reflecting the development of conveyor technology and progress.

The first phase of the product launch focuses on two to four helical gearboxes and helical gears, with a torque range of 3600 to 125,000 Nm. In the next stage, the range will be expanded to a total of 20 dimensions with a torque rating of up to 500,000 Nm. Units with more than this rated torque rating will be available from the existing modular range.

Drive: Torque

The new design elements increase the torque capacity of the line, including:
25 ° pressure angle gear teeth;
Surface hardening, ground gear;
Optimized bevel and helical toothed to ensure adequate contact under load;
Special hard gear teeth;
Gear set to AGMA Class 12; and
Heavy Ductile Iron Castings for Shock Loading.
Improved installation, maintainability and replacement features include removable adjustable feet that can replace the current product line and can be adapted to replace the competitor’s drive and the different axis centerline height. The base-mounted units can be serviced in the proper position and the split housing can be easily disassembled / assembled to maintain bearings and gears. The drive uses a leak-free seal, with a drain and a clean grease chamber to eliminate leakage. The optional DuraPlate cooling system does not require water or electricity to operate and optimally cools to take advantage of the machine’s unparalleled torque density. The Falk V-Class drive line offers torque ranges of up to 3 million in-lb (341,000 Nm) with horsepower ratings of 15 to 10,000 hp (11 to 7,500 kW) and parallel and right-angled shaft configurations.

Belt: carry more, longer, cleaner, cheaper
Veyance Technologies recently introduced the Flexsteel ST10,000 Conveyor Belt, which claims to have a lift capable of carrying more material, farther away than any previous one. Terry Graber, technical manager for transmission technology at Veyance, said that according to Veyance, the band was capable of delivering 10,000 tons / hour of imperial buildings in a single flight or 25 miles of material in a single flight.”The core of the Flexsteel ST10,000 is stitching,” Graber said. “With such a large belt, all this is to ensure that the wire rope splicing service.We are the only development belt manufacturer with the ability to test the joints in these highly tense situations.Flexsteel ST10,000 With innovative stitching design, Veyance says it has identified more than 50% of dynamic stitching efficiency. Graber introduced Veyance’s twin pulley dynamic stitching test rig to enable the company to introduce stitching technology for high-strength Flexsteel belts to meet DIN 22110 Part 3 standards.Graber said, “Our stitching strength at the Marysville Conveyor Technology Center in Ohio shows that ST10,000 is the world’s highest tensile strength band.” In addition, it allows the highest lifting speed and the longest continuous flight, no Transfer point. Simply said: it is stronger than any other belt. The longer the flight time of ST10,000, allows mining operations to travel longer distances without the need for a transfer point. Improving other operations by eliminating dust, noise, and chute clogging is another factor that leads to a reduction in mine capital costs. “With ST10,000, you can redesign the 8-mile, 5,000-foot decline in the Los Pelambres Conveyor System in northern Santiago, Chile, two flights instead of three shifts,” Graber said. At the same time, Germany’s belt supplier Conditec announced that its product lineup has two progress. It develops and is testing a rubber composite that reduces the rolling resistance of the belt by as much as 20% and improves the “troughability” of the ContiClean AH anti-stick conveyor, as well as the results of the rubber compound formulation. According to the company, the ContiClean AH belt is designed to provide a surface that can effectively handle ultra-viscous materials such as desulfurized gypsum, unsintered clay, titanium dioxide or wet ash. The new belt can now be damaged to a greater extent, thereby increasing its transmission capacity. The new rubber compound also allows the belt to operate at temperatures as low as -25 ° C.

enhanced belt maintenance
With its new high-strength belt, Veyance Technologies announced that its Cord Guard XD belt display now uses new technology to reliably identify the longitudinal tearing of the steel conveyor belt. It also tracks the condition of the steel bars in the belt to determine the damage that may not be visible on the surface. “Cord Guard XD uses patent-pending inserts to detect belt tearing caused by objects that are attached to the conveyor structure,” said Bret Hall, Veyance Technologies’ general manager for conveyor belts and conveyors. The patented RFID technology is used to uniquely identify each tear insert in the event that they are damaged, allowing the cord shield XD to be associated with the physical conveyor to tear off the insertion pattern to reduce harmful alarms. “The control unit of the Cord Guard XD can be connected to the computer or factory operating network via Ethernet.The output includes a display that displays the full length and length of the conveyor,” Hall said. Highlight the position and logo of each tear sheet. When the insert is damaged, the image changes to reflect the location and extent of the crack. The same output also shows the location and severity of any damage to the cord in the wire rope.

The key monitoring component of the Cord Guard XD is a patented continuous array that is designed to identify any crack events that occur on the entire bandwidth. These arrays are permanently mounted in the loading and unloading areas of the conveyor system, where tear damage is most likely to begin. In the loading area, a profiled array is used to detect tearing of the conveyor belt. A flat array is used on the return side of the back pulley of the pulley to monitor the slices starting from the discharge area.The Cord Guard XD control unit can be connected via Ethernet to the operating network of a computer or plant. The Web-based platform displays the location and identification number of each rip inserted. By clicking on any rip inserted image, other details of its status will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. When the insert is damaged, the image changes to reflect the belt width and tear position. The wire protection XD control unit then immediately sends a signal that can be programmed to stop the belt operation.