Modern Mining January 2015

PRODUCT News

Martin develops moulding cell for conveyor belt cleaners In a move designed to deliver global product availability and consis- tency with the fastest possible response to customer orders, Martin Engineering has announced the design and manufacture of a custom moulding cell for its polyurethane conveyor belt cleaners. By mixing, forming and curing its own designs in the modular work station – rather than subcontracting the production as most suppliers do – the company is taking complete control of the entire process, allowing one-day turnaround on most orders and even same-day shipping in many cases. “We’re one of the few manufacturers that designs and moulds its own belt cleaner blades,” explains Global Engineering Manager Paul Harrison. “We’ve been manufacturing them in the US for many years. With this modular work cell, we now have the ability to replicate the same manufacturing process in any of our business units, ensuring that we provide consistently high-quality products and quick deliv- ery times virtually anywhere in the world.”The work cell combines all the elements necessary to generate mixed, coloured urethane with the forming and curing process that is specific to Martin Engineering products. Harrison explains that by custom-engineering the process from the ground up, the design group was able to solve many of the prob- lems inherent to urethane moulding in other regions of the world. “The work cell is voltage- and frequency-independent,” he says. “It will function effectively whether the power source is in the US, South Africa, China or the UK.” In order to accommodate the varying skill levels around the world, Harrison and his team designed-in monitoring for all essential steps to relieve operators of the need for manual tracking. The pressures, power availability and quality, temperatures, speeds and many other parameters are all monitored continuously, and the system can even be diagnosed and controlled remotely. The prototype moulding centre has been disassembled and shipped to the Martin Engineering South Africa facility in eMalahleni (Witbank), where it has been operating successfully for three months. “South Africa was one of the few business units that subcontracted themoulding process,”he continued.“So it made sense for us to estab- lish the first unit there in response to increasing customer demands.” Operators of the new work cell have the ability to mould straight cleaners, segmented designs and long blades that can be cut to length. By stocking the appropriate profiles in longer lengths, con-

veyor owners can replace worn blades by simply cutting to the required size, which can help reduce inventory of replace- ment belt cleaners. Martin Engineering South Africa, tel (+27 13) 656-5135 The work cell combines all the elements necessary to generate mixed, coloured urethane with the form- ing and curing process.

January 2015  MODERN MINING  77