Crushers are the heartbeat of a quarrying site, working constantly to break down large pieces of raw material while contending with high vibration, dust and other contaminants.
On a recent site visit to a quarrying and materials recycling plant in Melbourne’s west, Motion Australia successfully carried out a drive belt upgrade that has led to significant cost and downtime savings.
The customer’s primary cone crusher was running off a 250KW electric motor and experiencing rapid changeover requirements as a result of an accelerated wear life on the belt assembly.
According to Motion Australia national product manager Rob Michelson, the standard V-belts were not capable of meeting the site’s high-volume production rate.
“The customer was only getting two to six weeks’ life out of their previous belts, so they called us in to organise a solution,” he said.
“Our power transmission specialists looked over the crusher and identified where there was cracking due to heat, as well as some marking that indicated excessive slippage.
“We suggested the Gates Predator V-Belts as the best solution going forward. “They’ve been running on there for about three months now and in downtime alone this change-out has saved them around $90,000.
“They’re extremely happy with the outcome, as are we.”
Michelson suggested that, realistically, if belts are requiring replacement more than once a year, a drive analysis is needed to assess where improvements can be made.
“The added benefit of this customer’s upgrade is that they were able to go from using 10 belts down to six,” he said. “This has helped provide better overhung load and increase the drive’s bearing life. It’s a bit more compact and creates a much more robust unit.”
Achieving the right amount of tension on any belt application is critical. Too loose and it will likely experience excess heat or premature wear. Setting them too tightly, however, will result in added strain on the shaft and bearing components.
Rosynes Hernandez, product manager for power transmission at Gates Australia, said that while standard belts usually feature polyester tensile cords, the Predator’s aramid alternative offers a maintenance-free solution that won’t require constant re-tensioning.
“The Predator’s aramid core is the strongest available in V-belt construction,” she said. “It’s what pulls and holds the tension to transmit high rates of power.
“The grip on the pulley is seriously firm, and the curved sidewall ensures a clean, even wear across the width.
“They weigh about half of what a standard V-belt would and are non-self-igniting to mitigate fire risk.”
Rather than using a standard rubber material, the Predator belts are constructed from a chloroprene compound, which boasts superior resistance against both heat and oil.
They are also able to handle up to 2.2 times more power than similarly sized standard V-belts, and include a bareback cover for added protection.
“The great thing about the double layer fabric cover is that it reduces friction and heat build-up, but also allows for a small degree of potential slippage,” Michelson said.
“In these crushing units, there is often a lot of high shock load, so if the drive belt can be a little forgiving without losing power capacity, that’s ideal.”
As part of the equipment analysis, Motion Australia’s power transmission specialists used the Gates Design Flex Pro Software to obtain a comprehensive reading on the drive’s performance and health.
This offered a better understanding of the required changes, so relevant on-site training for installation and aftercare could be carried out.
“All of our power transmission managers are currently travelling around Australia to get this program downloaded into our customer’s systems,” Michelson said. “It’s going to give them better visibility over their drive performance on a range of different machines, to make sure that they aren’t over- or under-designed.”
The professional Design Flex Pro portfolio allows users to save on time by identifying the most suitable belt products to fit each unique piece of equipment.
It can print, email and create PDF files of these design specifications to streamline the estimation of energy consumption, belt pull, cost savings and overall transmission capacity.
“A lot of people already have their eye on the Gates brand when they come to us for these types of applications,” Michelson said. “They’ve garnered an incredibly strong reputation in the Australian industrial market as a robust product that’s designed for the harshest operating environments.
“These premium belts, hand-in-hand with such an industry-informed analysis program, truly gives customers the best possible outcomes that will stand to last in the long-term.”
This feature appeared in the November issue of Australian Mining.