Modern Mining May 2019

CRUSHING, SCREENING AND MILLING

It’s doing a fantastic job and the client is very happy,” says Chris. If there is one design feature above all oth- ers that distinguishes MVT’s larger screens and feeders from their competitors, it is the company’s use of its in-house designed flange- mounted exciters (or PODs). According to MVT, this innovative design eliminates the traditional drive arrangements found on large machines such as the geared exciter and cum- bersome vibratory motor drive-beams. The pods are directly bolted to the side plates where the vibration energy is required, resulting in a lighter, more cost-effective and energy-efficient machine. The PODs are grease lubricated and are designed with a 60 000-hour bearing life. “The PODs are easily exchanged during maintenance and can typically be replaced in less than two hours,” states Tim. He adds that damage by a failed bearing is isolated to one POD, making the repair significantly cheaper than the replacement or reconditioning of con- ventional geared exciters or vibratory motors. Looking to the future, Chris says that MVT is now starting to achieve critical mass. “We’re not fixated on growth but the more work we do, the better known we become and this leads to new orders. We also find that we’re getting repeat business from customers who are very satisfied with the installations we’ve done for them and who also like the fact that our prices and turn- around times are very competitive. We’re now definitely on the map and poised to become a sig- nificant player in the vibratory equipment field.” Report by Arthur Tassell

‘bespoke’ products. “We pride ourselves on our ability to design and manufacture machines that match the specific needs of customers in terms of the ore to be treated or the complica- tions that particular sites present,” he says. “To give one example, we’re currently working on a large screen for an underground manganese mine. It will have to go down in the cage in pieces, so we’re going to have to split it with the cut going right through the middle of the side plate at the point which receives the most stress during operation. We’re confident that our design will measure up and that the cut we make will have no impact on the perfor- mance or longevity of the unit.” He adds that the company managed to get the business of a major diamond miner by design- ing a unique grizzly horizontal feeder able to cut at a 150 mm square aperture. “No one else wanted to attempt this job but we took it on. We said to the customer we were prepared to build a test rig to demonstrate that our design would work, conditional on our receiving an order if the trial was successful. They agreed and that’s exactly how we proceeded. We built the test rig with 150 mm apertures, it worked perfectly and the customer gave us the order.” In another innovative development, MVT built a machine to screen woodchips, a market normally dominated by resonance machines. “The screen we supplied is a brute force machine which runs at a slow rpm in order to achieve large amplitudes. In fact, it can run at a 26 mm amplitude – which is unheard of – although in practice it operates at 19 mm.

Finishing off an order for eight 3 050 x 1 830 mm horizontal washing screens.

“We’re now definitely on the map and poised to become a significant player in the vibratory equipment field.”

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May 2019  MODERN MINING  45