A new generation of linear motion vibrating screens is now being locally designed and manufactured in South Africa.

According to Weir Minerals Africa, this design capability provides the flexibility to produce vibrating screens to suit specific plant layouts. The designs aim to optimise cost, efficiency and performance. South Africa also hosts Weir Minerals’ global screening and separation technology group.

The company explains that the final design must address key criteria like screening efficiency, throughput and loading, while still operating within the acceptable fatigue life limits of the materials of construction.

Enduron screens are deployed in a wide range of minerals processing applications. Vibrating equipment is seen to be more challenging to design than static equipment owing to the high frequency cyclic loading to which the machines are subjected. Weir asserts that its expertise will help to ensure that its Enduron vibrating screens provide exceptional classification and dewatering screening performance.

The use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tools allow engineers to optimise screen life by obtaining the stress and deflection levels in the equipment and applying the appropriate structural design and utilisation of materials in the areas experiencing high stresses.

According to the company, screen designs used to be heavier in an effort to extend the life of the equipment, however,r the use of FEA tools during the design stage allows for the retention of structural integrity while reducing the overall weight of the machine.

While there are areas of high stress on the equipment that need more strength, technology tools indicate where lower stresses occur. In these areas, less steel can be used to make the structure lighter. Leveraging this technology, the weight of some new-generation screens has been cut by up to 15%.

One of the new screen designs is part of a recent Weir Minerals Africa complete comminution plant contract for a South African mining project. The scope includes two crushing stations, a screening station and all the related feed chutes, bins and conveyors.

The company notes that its Synertrex Internet of Things (IoT) platform can also be applied to monitor and improve the performance of its vibrating screens. The technology is an industrial IoT system that allows operators to monitor various aspects of their equipment’s operation, to prevent problems and increase throughput.