Crushing and Screening: The Big Payback

Portable Crushing Plant
CRUSHING, BREAKING AND SCREENING CASE STUDIES, NEW PRODUCTS, INDUSTRY ADVICE AND MORE.

Aggregates producers are looking closely at their operations these days. With production predicted to increase in the wake of the passage of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, it will be critically important to have the plant hitting on all cylinders.

Yahara Materials

Yahara Materials, Waunakee, Wis., is meeting growing market demands by increasing production and maximizing throughput.

Increasing production and maximizing throughput is nothing new. In fact, next to sizing accuracy a recent survey shows that throughput is the second largest concern amongst producers, when surveyed to rank the factors most important when selecting screening media.

But what happens when external factors such as market growth and adverse weather conditions impact your operations ability to meet the increasing demand and capture your market share?

Over the past 15 years, Yahara Materials has experienced a dramatic increase in demand for clear stone products. These products are widely used for underground pipe and highway bedding to provide proper drainage. The product specifications required clean rock with minimal fines. Yahara Materials needed to find a way to increase their capacity to effectively capture their share of this growing market.

Yahara Triple Deck Portable Plant

Yahara, Triple Deck – Portable Plant.

Yahara Materials operates seven 6- x 20-ft., triple deck, portable-crushing plants that were equipped with slotted, Tri-Lock screens. These slotted screens became very problematic when faced with ever-changing soil conditions found at various locations; due to increased moisture content present during the winter and spring months. They were unable to remove enough fines to get the product within specification. The slotted screens would blind over, halting production and minimizing throughput.

Upon the evaluation and recommendation of Rod Skindrud, the local Unified Screening & Crushing Co. field service representative, Nick Cady, superintendent of operations at Yahara Materials changed to a Stainless Steel “W” style screen on the lower two decks, while the top deck remained a hard drawn, high carbon – square opening, Unified screen for cost efficiency.

This change greatly increased the flexibility of the screen and increased product flow. The W style screen is composed of straight tension wires, W shaped wires and custom cross wires. Three different wire sizes are used for a harmonic screening effect. This product allows greater open area and increases throughput with this “harmonic effect.” In addition, the W slots perform well during wet and difficult screening conditions.

Photo.Nick Cady.3.060915

Nick Cady – superintendent of operations at Yahara Materials.

“Blinding and sizing problems can be eliminated. We have experienced a 15 percent increase to production since the change out to the ‘W’ slots and the ‘W’ slot screens are lasting longer. They are lasting two to three times longer than anything we used in this application, in the past,” according to Cady.

“The increase has allowed us to increase our capacity to capture our share of the growing demand for clear stone,” Cady said. “Plus these clean screens have saved us an investment in a new wash plant for our concrete applications. Our production is up, throughput improved, especially in wet conditions, and we’ve saved an additional step in processing materials. It was a win-win decision.”

Yahara Materials now use W slotted screens on the bottom two decks of all their 6- x 20-ft., triple deck plants. “We have not had to change them out all season,” Cady said.

The primary benefit is the significant reduction in downtime and maintenance allowing Yahara Materials to increase production to meet growing demand. It is just one more example of having the right screening and crushing team to make a positive difference.

Lannon Stone Products
Lannon 1

Lannon 2

With five locations in southeast Wisconsin, Lannon Stone Products serves the concrete, asphalt, road-building, grading, utility, landscape, environmental and building stone industries with products that meet stringent standards for quality as demanded by their valued customers.

The Sussex, Wis.-based company selected Telsmith screens to be installed in a retrofit application as part of their facility-wide processing equipment upgrade.

A 6- x 20-ft. Vibro-King TL inclined vibrating screen was installed to replace an aging Hewitt-Robins screen, while two 8- x 20-ft. Vibro-King TL screens were selected in place of the existing models.

Lannon Stone elected to use Telsmith screening solutions for this key installation due to the ability to customize the screens based on application, including specialty liners to address wear issues.

With sizes ranging from 18- x 6-ft. to 8-x 24-ft., Telsmith can meet screening needs from 24-hour mining operations, to heavy-duty aggregate processing and sizing, to recycling of asphalt and concrete products, the company said.

Telsmith’s Vibro-King TL screen design matches the vibrating screen and media as never before, creating outstanding performance and longevity. From heavy-duty scalping of coarse stone to fine sizing of finished products, wet or dry processing, the Vibro-King TL is built to deliver low cost performance as never before.

“We are pleased that Lannon Stone has entrusted Telsmith to deliver a solution that provides key operational improvements, while utilizing most of the existing plant structures,” said Matthew Haven, president of Telsmith Inc. “When completed properly, retrofitting of equipment provides customers with the performance of a new plant at a fraction of the cost.”

“The age and mechanical condition of our dry-screen fleet was becoming a significant performance problem for our Sussex Quarry. We were in the habit of repairing the screens whenever they broke, but when we finally analyzed our downtime, we knew we were fighting a losing battle,” said Hans Dawson, third generation owner/operator of Lannon Stone Products Inc. “We were very impressed with Telsmith’s build quality, custom fit to our structures, and short lead time to delivery. Their sales team measured our existing structures and the screens dropped right in place during install. The increased uptime on the screens has given us both higher production and more time to focus on repairs elsewhere in the plant. It feels like the plant is now working for us instead of the other way around.”

“Telsmith looks forward to the future with Lannon Stone as we prepare to provide equipment, including key T-Series installs at another of their southeast Wisconsin locations this fall,” said Haven.

Vanguard Jaw Crusher

At this year’s AGG1 show, KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens were talking up its wide range of products. One of the products being discussed was the Vanguard Jaw Crusher.

KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens expanded the Vanguard product line with the new, more compact 2056 Vanguard Jaw in efforts to meet every producer’s operational needs.

2056 Vanguard Jaw CrusherThe 2056 Vanguard Jaw Crusher features a 20- x 56-in. jaw crusher that is ideal for sand and gravel applications, and also excels in recycled concrete and mining applications.

“The small gap provides an excellent nip angle at a tight closed-side-setting, making this the perfect jaw for applications where the material is minus-16-in.,” said Ron Griess, product manager for KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens. “Additionally, the crusher’s high reliability paired with best-in-class performance leads to a lower cost per ton over the lifetime of the crusher.”

Significant changes engineered into the new 2056 model include a new single cylinder auto-tension system, which offers less maintenance, increased reliability and reduced wear part consumption. The crusher’s new wear seat provides easy access and increased uptime, while a new corrugated stationary wedge increases the crusher gap and maintains a steep nip angle, providing less slippage, lowering the wear costs by providing longer jaw die life. Its unique flywheel retention system secures the flywheel in place, providing unmatched reliability and longevity.

The innovative shaft and bearing assembly increases serviceability and reduces maintenance and rebuild cost, providing a lower total cost of ownership through the lifetime of the machine. The electric motor mount, v-belt drive and guarding are all integrated on the machine, providing an easy-to-install compact package for mobile or stationary applications. A large 1¼-in. stroke and heavy-duty flywheels result in a lower fuel cost per ton and offer 33 percent more inertia than competitive models.

Do’s and Don’ts of Hydraulic Breaking

While crushing and screening are typically linked for operational efficiency so are crushing and breaking. It is important to take certain best practices into consideration for optimal secondary breaking success.

According to the experts at Montabert, it’s the rare operator who jumps into a cab with the intention of damaging his equipment. Most often, simple mistakes or a lack of training is the cause of hazardous wear or catastrophic failure of machines, systems and attachments.

Montabert SC 22 Hydraulic BreakerThis is especially true for hydraulic breakers, which have become increasingly sophisticated since Montabert introduced the world’s first hydraulic concrete breaker in the mid-1960s. What follows is a list of do’s and don’ts for the owners and operators of these advanced pieces of demolition equipment.

DO position the breaker properly. “The most common mistake in hydraulic breaker operation is placing the breaker at an angle to the rock,” said Paul Shevlin, territory manager for Montabert.

Often referred to as side loading, this improper practice not only diminishes the effectiveness of the breaker’s strike, but it also places strain on the tool and internal components of the breaker.

“The breaker must always be positioned perpendicular to the rock or concrete,” said Shevlin.

This is especially important when operating a variable impact breaker, like the Montabert V-Series, which tests the hardness of the material and reacts with the proper combination of impact and frequency. If improperly aligned, the breaker could respond as though it were working in light material and remain in a high-frequency, low-impact mode.

Equipment owners or others in charge of inspecting equipment can easily diagnose side loading, as a breaker that has been improperly positioned will be noticeably worn on one side. Inspectors who see this should provide additional training on proper tool positioning and the critical nature of it. With breaker replacement costs ranging from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, an uneducated operator can create an expensive problem.

DON’T set yourself up for blank firing. Blank firing, or operator misfires, is one of the leading causes of tool damage. Often, blank firing is caused by side loading. Because the operator does not have the tool positioned at 90 degrees to the material, it actually creates more opportunity for the breaker to fire without resistance. The result is increased vibration up through the boom and dipper stick, greatly reducing the life of those critical components.

Most experts will tell you it’s impossible to avoid all misfires. Fortunately, innovation in hydraulic breakers has led to the development of blank-firing protection technology. Montabert, for example, offers blank-fire protection as standard on many of its breaker models to help minimize impact wear.

DO match your breaker to your carrier. Many contractors begin their search for equipment by looking for a breaker with the proper striking force. Yet, it’s equally important to consider the attachment carrier. Contractors must be sure the hydraulic flow of the machine they intend to use on the job matches the breaker’s flow range. A breaker that is too small for the machine will not be able to sufficiently manage hydraulic flow that is too strong, risking major damage to the attachment. Conversely, hydraulic flow that is too weak will cause the breaker to malfunction, slowing – maybe even stopping – the day’s work.

Likewise, be sure the carrier has sufficient power to lift and properly position the attachment. If a machine can’t supply enough force to keep a breaker in proper position, it likely won’t break the material at all. Worse, it may appear to be working, but the resulting wear on overworked parts is generating near-future consequences. To eliminate the potential for mismatched equipment, contractors with an application-specific need may consider renting an excavator already equipped with a dedicated breaker.

DON’T use a breaker for unsuitable tasks. “In any given city across the globe, you’ll pass by a jobsite and see an operator using a breaker to pry wedged material out of the ground or to move a big rock out of the way,” said Shevlin. “What he doesn’t know is how much stress that’s putting on the tool, inside and out.”

Indeed, using breakers for anything other than, well, breaking, is not a smart move. As with side loading, pushing or prying material puts uneven pressure on a breaker, unnecessarily fatiguing bushings, seals and other components. It can also cause damage to the tool and the carrier boom.

DO make lubrication a part of your routine. According to Shevlin, making sure a breaker is adequately oiled to flush out dust and debris is the single most important thing an owner or operator can do to extend the life of the tool. “If you’re not properly greasing your breaker, the bushings absolutely will wear prematurely,” he says. “You should be able to see 5 to 6 in. of grease running down the sides of the tool from the breaker.”

V32Breaker MONTABERTDON’T skimp on inspections. Second only to lubrication in important maintenance tasks are daily and weekly checks, which can provide early warning of weak or damaged parts and can indicate improper operation. Shevlin recommends weekly removal of the tool from the breaker to increase visibility of more surface areas and internal parts. “The tool will wear out before the breaker, especially with more abrasive tools, like chisels,” he said.

Inspectors may also consider investing in a gauge to help them adequately assess wear on the bushings. Not running a breaker after the useful life of the bushings is essential to maintaining healthy equipment.

Proper breaker operation is about extending the life of the tool, yet it’s also about protecting the carrier and the operator. Every owner and operator of increasingly sophisticated and powerful breakers should be properly trained to avoid damage or injury to each of the job’s essential tools, including himself.

Information for this article courtesy of Telsmith, Unified Crushing and Screening, KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens, and Montabert.


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