HEAVY ENGINEERING & WEAR PARTS
“ The success of the Digital Academy means that , despite being a young science in most manufacturing facilities , additive manufacturing is now a very mature technology at Todmorden and printing patterns and tools has become part of its everyday operations ,” Jenkins explains .
Expanding on these capabilities , Weir set out to print certain aspects of specific components in sand to improve the accuracy and on-site safety . This allowed Weir to expand its offering from two product lines to 80 product lines .
On the back of this success , the team began exploring other laser scanning opportunities .
Because of the accuracy of the technology , Weir is able to guarantee that the component will function correctly hydraulically when it arrives at site – something that ’ s never been more important with so many of its customers located in remote areas and at a time when there are supply chain challenges .
Weir introduced a metrology-grade 20 laser line scanning system , allowing it to produce a single-skin image in a fraction of the time than it would otherwise take . From there , the team continued to leverage this technology .
“ Now , every product comes as a 3D image , which is uploaded into the foundry ’ s systems ,” Jenkins says . “ The 3D image can then be manipulated to produce a toolpath for additive manufacturing tooling . Weir is now installing the largest large-format printing system that ’ s commercially available at its Todmorden facility .”
This technology allows Weir to print the tool in a recyclable material at 50 % lower energy consumption , it claims . Moreover , the robot corrects itself , so if anything goes wrong it simply re-machines it without any operator intervention .
Once the pattern has been extruded and printed , the materials are laid out so quickly that they then need to be machined back to size . The robot simply drops the extruder head and picks up a machine attachment and does the final machining in a fraction of the time that it would take someone to do it , according to the company .
The team is now investigating whether this technology can be used to subtractive manufacture one-off prototype items that can be used in test campaigns .
“ This robotic sand milling concept would deliver an item at about one fifth of the cost it would take to additively manufacture it ,” Jenkins says . “ The same robot used for printing would , instead , pick up a milling head attachment and mill the shape out of a blank sand block . This will provide an unrivalled route to market .”
Sustainability is core to Weir ’ s purpose and is a critical priority for the mining industry . Its target is to achieve a 30 % reduction in absolute CO 2e Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030 from a 2019 base year . Weir ’ s overall approach focuses on energy efficient initiatives in hot spots , particularly the foundries .
Weir has partnered with ENGIE Australia and New Zealand to source renewable energy for its Artarmon operations . From the second half of 2023 , about 50 % of its energy came from renewable sources ( solar farms located in New South Wales ). This year it will offset 75 % of its CO 2e emissions from electricity and next year it will be offsetting 100 % of its CO 2e emissions , it claims .
Weir also already has solar panel installations in South Africa and Artarmon and is also planning to install solar panels at the Todmorden facility .
Furthermore , Weir is focused on reducing the waste streams of sand , metal scrap , elastomer scrap and dust , with the aim to minimise or even eliminate sending waste to landfill .
The Todmorden facility is looking at recategorising sand – it ’ s biggest waste stream – to a low value product . It is partnering with academic institutions to transform the sand from a waste product into a low-grade concrete product .
Moreover , all the foundries generate heat via melting and heat treatment . There are several projects looking at heat harvesting and then redistributing it , possibly for combustion purposes .
Jenkins concludes : “ The foundries are the cornerstone of Weir ’ s operations , integral to its ability to service its customers reliably and in a timely fashion and central to its commitment to make mining more sustainable .”
Bradken creates a game-changer for mill safety
The Bradken Mineral Processing team recently completed a successful first shell liner installation using its new innovative MillSafe™ Bolting System in a 31.5 ft diameter SAG mill at a large nickel mining and concentrator operation in Western Australia . Bradken ’ s Principal Product Manager , Craig Faulkner , was on site for this milestone installation and notes the customer team was extremely impressed with the safety and productivity benefits offered by the Bradken MillSafe Bolting System .
The Bradken team delivers wear-resistant products and services that support mineral processing customers in the day-to-day operation of their processing plants , and also assists mines and ports in asset management and off-site repairs . This combined with ongoing investment into new generation technology means Bradken ’ s operations use the latest techniques , technology and processes in product
development , design , tooling manufacture , casting processes , robotics , machining and
assembly . The recent product development and installation at the large nickel mining and concentrator operation Bradken says is a key milestone in its ability to provide safer and more productive solutions in mill processing . Bradken supplied product and installation at the site ’ s SAG2 mill when it was down for a scheduled reline to replace worn shell liners with new double-wide integral shell liners , Bradken ’ s new MillSafe Bolting System was installed with the new safer , more efficient method .
After the installation was completed the customer indicated the new larger double-wide integral liners improved reline installation times significantly . Bradken said : “ Our innovative product and installation method enabled us to complete the reline 20 hours ahead of schedule , improving productivity levels and predicted maintenance . This was coupled with the impressive safety benefits of using the MillSafe Bolting System , resulting in improved site safety .”
Bradken has been commissioned to produce and install a second set of shell liners with MillSafe Bolting System for the SAG1 mill as a result of this successful project .
Developed to improve reline safety for maintenance operators , the MillSafe Bolting System takes people out of the danger zones inside the mill during relining – a process which is not only time-consuming , but hazardous for operators working in close proximity to 2,000 kg steel liners in the confined space inside a mill .
The unique , innovative design developed by Bradken allows easy vertical or horizontal installation , positioning and alignment with liner bolt holes in a more efficient and safer process .
ME Elecmetal helps align liner maintenance
Still on the wear part side of the business , ME Elecmetal ’ s heavy-duty liner application has been enhancing tower mil availability by 50 %, ensuring a significant boost in operational efficiency at one specific operation .
This case study highlighted a significant decrease in wear rates – approximately 35 % for ME Elecmetal ’ s design , compared with the original design , allowing for a decrease from three maintenance cycles per year to only two .
In this example , ME Elecmetal identified the client ’ s need to optimise the lifespan of its liners in the 1250 tower mills operating in the concentrator plant . In recent years , these liners had provided a duration of approximately 3,000 effective operating hours per campaign , which practically equated to four months of operation .
Given the client ’ s concentrator plant relies on a SAG mill that feeds into the tower mills , it is important to highlight that the SAG mill requires downtime every four months to align with the liner maintenance schedule of the tower mills . In this scenario , extending the lifespan of the tower
10 International Mining | JUNE 2024