It has recently established a new facility in the Pilbara, located in Newman, which is expected to open early in 2020 to further extend its service to customers in the region.

This will allow the company to become more agile to meet customer requests with quicker turnaround times, local support and access to the best engineers and technicians in the market.

PROK has also continued to strengthen its position in the market both on the east and west coast of Australia, while increasing its global presence with new facilities established in Canada, Chile, the USA and Indonesia.

The brand you know and trust

With an emphasis on total-cost-of-ownership, performance and reliability, PROK provides products that support modern bulk material handling practices, both as original equipment and as replacements in existing systems.

Decades of engineering experience is designed into PROK conveyor products and its state-of-the-art design software with a complete offering across rollers, frames, pulleys, belt cleaners, and safety devices.

The company has continued research work on the new technologies and materials to develop the current range of PROK conveyor equipment.

Its presence across Australia includes a network of manufacturing facilities and specialised engineering and technical services facilities.

Recent projects

One of the major current projects for PROK is the manufacture and supply of low noise conveyor idlers and the manufacture and supply of pulleys for one of the fastest overland conveyors in Australia, which will operateat more than 10m/sec.

PROK was chosen for this project due to its experience with high speed conveyors and ability to meet complex specifications required by long distance, high speed, high tolerance applications.

Extending capability in East Coast of Australia

In January 2019, PROK extended its conveyor equipment capability on the East Coast of Australia with the addition of a specialised OEM pulley manufacturing facility based in Gosford and the investment in new equipment and technologies at its Smeaton Grange facility in Sydney.

The additional manufacturing capacity in Gosford includes six over-head cranes, plate rolling, state-of-the-art CNC machining, specialised welding to the highest standards, in-house stress relieving, shot-blasting, painting facilities, lagging facilities including an autoclave for hot vulcanised (with and without ceramic) lagging and specialised pulley acceptance testing equipment.

This provides a dedicated local option for OEM pulleys and pulley overhauls and further strengthens the company’s pulley capabilities and product offering to customers across the east coast of Australia.

Advanced idlers

PROK is Australia’s market leading idler manufacturer, operating the most advanced idler production facilities in Australia.

Over the years, the company has built up an elite design and project management team who understands the diverse nature of the mining industry.

PROK offers a complete range of idlers and support services for all mining and resource segments and with its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, has the capability to deliver the highest quality manufactured rollers flexible in-house designand custom engineered solutions.

PROKOMPOSITE

PROK’s latest generation all-composite roller, is a low-weight, low-noise innovation that meets the need for a superior conveyor component.

The new composite rollers deliver significantly more value than competing steel rollers, from lower cost to corrosion resistance in wet and high-salt environments: they’re safer, quieter and more economical.

The rollers generate more than 50pc less noise, are 55pc lighter and cost up to 20pc less to own (due to easier maintenance and lower energy demands) than traditional steel rollers.

Despite their light weight, the new PROKOMPOSITE rollers deliver durability in demanding medium to heavy duty conveying applications.

PROK pulleys

PROK continues to lead the way in the conveyor pulley space due to its superior manufacturing capability and flexibility.

With industry leading design software, coupled with in-house manufacturing capabilities and bespoke design to meet customer requirements, PROK ensures quick turnaround on new and refurbished pulleys.

PROK offers a complete range of pulleys for all applications including live and dead shaft pulleys, light duty pulleys, medium duty pulleys and heavy duty engineered pulleys, with an emphasis on performance and reliability.

PROK technical services

The company has engineers and technicians capable of providing on-site services and solutions.

It is a service-oriented group with specialist conveyor expertise and is a gateway to the expansive engineering capability of the wider NEPEAN business.

PROK’s conveyor engineering solutions cover:

• Product and equipment-based solutions
• Customised designs
• Application-specific conveyor equipment
• Specialist conveyor company providing holistic solutions
• Access to global specialist engineering and associated IP through the wider NEPEAN group

Pulley refurbishment services

PROK pulleys are engineered for extended service in heavy duty mining and industrial applications, which means they are built to last.

PROK pulleys are designed to be refurbished, breathing new life into old pulleys – an attractive option for many mining companies looking to increase operational efficiencies and reduce downtime.

PROK’s Pulley Refurbishment Services are situated in key mining locations, offering global clients the opportunity to extend the life of their pulleys using leading engineers and technicians and original OEM components.

More information:

Phone: 1800 PROKCC
Email: conveyors.au@prok.com
Website: prok.com

The post Quality conveyor equipment appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

Aerobelt Australia is an Australian-owned business, and its engineers have extensive experience on all types of Aerobelt design, installation and maintenance.

They have extensive backgrounds in design, mining and industrial engineering.

Aerobelt mechanical engineer Simon Kutassy says that air-supported conveyors are the only product his company makes, and this gives them the advantage of a fully dedicated team of experts working on customisable designs for clients.

“We’re a one product company, its all we do,” he said.

Aerobelt conveyors can transport product at inclines of up to 27 degrees, they are reversible, and they are prefabricated in sections which means they can be rapidly installed and transported.

In an air cushion conveyor system, the belt is carried on a film of air.

Air is blown into the air box or plenum under the conveyor belt by a small fan – with one fan being sufficient for over 200 metres of belt conveyor.

The number of air holes in the trough, the air pressure and volume depend on the material being transported, and belt widths vary from 300mm to 1800mm.

Aerobelt conveyors can deliver tonnage of about 10t/hour to 2000t/hour.

Galvanised steel is used as the standard construction material, although many installations have used stainless steel for part or almost all components to meet food or corrosive/abrasive environment needs.

Because of the low friction, power consumption is reduced significantly, and belt construction is able to be much lighter due to reduced working tension.

The Aerobelt conveyors can be retrofitted to reuse existing roller conveyor galleries and steelwork, including concave and convex profile curves.

Operationally, Aerobelt conveyors emit less noise, the fully-covered design enhances product integrity and operator safety, and the stream of air keeps the trough clean.

But perhaps the biggest advantage of an Aerobelt conveyor is the minimal costs in maintenance and repairs compared with conventional conveyor systems.

Quite often, conveyors can be installed in the air without walkways around them because access is not necessary for maintenance, as it can be carried out from underneath.

Mr Kutassy says that while they are not ultra-heavy duty in the context of mining, they are invaluable for many different purposes, especially to one of Aerobelt’s main clients, Rio Tinto.

“Rio Tinto has about 40 in the Pilbara,” Mr Kutassy said.

“They use them for dust conveyors and also for their specialised sampling system.

“The conveyors are suitable for a number of different types of products, minerals and even food.

“We’ve done a number of MOP plants, so we can construct the conveyors out of stainless steel to make them food grade, and we’ve got roughly 50:50 food and minerals products, like mineral sands.”

Streamlined design

Low maintenance, low power consumption, smaller drives and drive motors, much smaller gear boxes and lightweight structures separate the Aerobelt from its conventional competitors.

Because friction is so minimal, less power is used, even in starting the idlers.

And, because the conveyors don’t vibrate, or go up and down on idler sets, Aerobelt conveyors can go steeper than roller conveyers – up to 27 degrees.

Because there’s no need to access the top side of the conveyor, it can generally be left covered and closed, and return rollers are lightweight – they can be made from PVC – and so they are easy, light and simple to change.

The design also means that no walkway is needed for elevated structures; instead a boom lift could be used to replace the rollers once every two to three years when necessary.

This lower cost in maintenance is the key saving that Aerobelt customers have found, and the other major saving has been the reduced power needed to operate the belt.

The results

When Rio Tinto is happy with your product, you know you’re doing something right.

Rio has had a repeat order with Aerobelt for a number of years, on a number of different mine sites for many different applications.

More information:

www.aerobelt.com.au

Phone: (02) 4631 2919

Email: info@aerobelt.com.au

The post Air-powered innovation appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

Mr Sharp had the idea to develop a better and more reliable product; one that would dissipate kinetic energy and provide the benefits of long service life, as well as assisting in reducing maintenance costs in terms of consumables and labour.

The design for the dynamic impact bed – using rubber torsion springs as suspension – was radically different from the static impact beds that were dominating the Australian marketplace at the time.

Load zones and transfer points

Most belt damage occurs at conveyor load zones (e.g. under crushers) and transfer points. The reasons for this are many and varied.

Impact bed or belt support cradle?

Many so-called impact beds are nothing more than belt support cradles with limited design capacity to dissipate impact energy and provide belt damage protection.

Design and engineering

Leverlink’s experience, engineering skills, and continuous improvement program through research and development and infield monitoring has made the company leaders in the design and application of dynamic impact beds in Australia.

All Leverlink dynamic impact beds are custom-built to suit the application, and in areas where installation space and access are restricted, the design can be such that the individual parts can be broken down and reassembled on the conveyor frame in manageable parts with minimum effort.

• No rollers to replace
• Reduced downtime
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Protects conveyor structure from impact damage
• Supports belt profile at load zone
• Long service life
• Cost effective
• Cost saving
• Easy to retrofit

Rubber torsion springs – impact/vibration attenuation

Leverlink has developed rubber torsion springs that provide a unique method of absorbing impact with the added benefit of vibration attenuation.

Rubber torsion springs are used extensively in its designs for various applications.

Leverlink is the largest manufacturer of rubber torsion springs in Australia, and also manufactures some of the biggest rubber torsion springs in the world.

With a proven track record, the company uses in-house engineering and design combined with extensive infield representation and has years of experience in mining, quarrying, and material handling problems. 

Load zone design

The design of an effective conveyor load zone can often be a complex issue.

Functional specifications such as belt speed, width, type of belt, product size, free fall heights, and product moisture content are all major design considerations.

Spillage control

Spillage can be controlled by effective skirting and inner wear plate design and the added use of belt support systems.

Case study one

Leverlink was contacted by a large mining operation who were continually experiencing failure of its impact roller frames.

The conveyor belt was 2000mm wide with a 45-degree trough angle, and the belt was running at 1.5 m/sec, the feed material was -500mm with a free fall height of 2500mm, and the production rate was 1800 tph.

With the functional specifications supplied, Leverlink then visited the site to determine what additional information could be gained that would assist in the engineering and design of a Dynamic Impact Bed to minimise the damage to the conveyor belt and supporting structure.

The Dynamic Impact Bed was built and installed.

The goal was achieved, and the client completely satisfied, they then purchased a second unit for an identical load zone.

This was 26 years ago. In this time the slider bars have been replaced three times and the impact mounts twice, but it is expected the Dynamic Impact Beds will last another 10 years.

Case study two

An offshore copper mine commissioned Leverlink to provide a solution for extremely high costs due to belt damage at a conveyor load zone.

The conveyor belt was 2400mm wide, 23 degrees trough angle, and running at 3.35m/sec. The material was hard rock/copper ore at -250mm with a free fall height of 6000mm. The peak capacity was 10,000 tph.

Engineering calculations determined a multi-trough Dynamic Impact Bed was required for the application.

This was designed, manufactured and exported to the client. When installed and commissioned it resolved the belt damage problem to the customer’s satisfaction.

One year later the mine ordered a second unit for a similar conveyor belt.

Leverlink has been at the cutting edge of rubber torsion springs and dynamic impact beds for about 30 years, and can provide fully customised impact beds, and many more products and services.

More information:

Call: Eastern States (07) 3737 2400

Western States (08) 6165 8892

Email: sales@leverlink.com.au

Website: www.leverlink.com.au

The post Leverlink makes impact appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.

Positioned under a 150-tonne storage hopper, the screw feeder supplies nickel sulphate crystals to a bagging system below.

The system needed to start under a full load from the hopper through a four-metre-long outlet.

This would allow the client to fill and store material in the hopper for when planned maintenance was undertaken upstream.

The hopper’s significant capacity and the weight of the material would place the screw feeder under extreme pressures.

Special consideration was necessary in the design phase to ensure it was robust enough to handle the task.

When the screw rotates, it creates shearing force and under a full load, immense pressure is placed on the spiral gear drive unit.

A Bonfiglioli planetary drive was selected to handle this as it was ideal for low speed, high torque and small footprint tasks such as this.

Bulknet business development manager Geoff Thomson said deflection of the centre tube was a major concern during the design and consultation phase.

“If there is too much deflection on a screw feeder’s centre tube, unnecessary radial loads are transferred to the drive and tail bearings, resulting in faster wear,” he said.

“In addition, extra stresses are exerted on the centre tube’s welds, reducing its fatigue life.”

Nickel sulphate crystals are a class one carcinogen, which presents a hazard to human health.

As such, the screw feeder had to be completely air-tight, so Bulknet incorporated a number of sealed gaskets and air purged Clamp Ezy Seals to ensure no leakage of the product.

Bulknet then manufactured the feeder using Grade 316 stainless steel and delivered it to the client.

As a specialised designer and manufacturer of screw conveyors and feeders, Bulknet was also able to offer the customer engineering expertise and spare parts to keep the system running after installation.

According to the customer’s feedback, Bulknet was the only manufacturer that was able to meet all of the unique design requirements needed for its screw feeder.

Bulknet is an Australian manufacturer. For the past 50 years it has specialised in bulk materials handling.

It uses an in-house design and manufacturing facility in Melbourne to provide premium quality screw conveyors, screw feeders, pugmills, paddle mixers, live bottom bins, ribbon mixers, bucket elevators and drag chain conveyors.

Its clients range from multinationals to small processing facilities worldwide.

More Information:

1800 069 675

sales@bulknet.com.au

www.bulknet.com.au

The post Screw feeder specialists appeared first on The Australian Mining Review.